China will be forced into retaliating against the US in a confrontation over the "red line" of its Taiwan policy, a defence expert has said.
After the second most powerful lawmaker in the US landed in Taiwan last night, China launched into action - with a burst of military activity in the waters surrounding the self-ruled island.
US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit has infuriated Beijing with President Xi Jinping's government summoning America's ambassador to the capital this morning.
They have also halted several agricultural imports from Taiwan - an economic bullet to the island that remains closely linked financially to the Chinese mainland.
Taiwan's defence ministry reported that some of China's planned military exercises will also take place within the island's 12 nautical mile sea and air territory, an unprecedented move.
A senior defence official dubbed the reports "amounting to a sea and air blockade of Taiwan".
De Sidharth Kaushal, an expert on maritime warfare at the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI), told the Mirror the bold response has come from a leadership that feels backed into a corner.
And having been "forced into action", Beijing may decide to ratchet up its response to include even stronger incursions, Dr Kasuhal says.
Prof Kaushal told The Mirror: "For them [China], they probably feel to a certain extent, like they've been forced into action by this, that they need to do something otherwise their position on Taiwan, will further and further erode."
He added Chinese leaders wouldn't invade Taiwan "on a whim" or in a responsive way, but it would be something they "would do on a premeditated basis having seriously though about the risks they were incurring".
"They're not militarily prepared right now. They've got quite a few domestic issues to deal with," Dr Kaushal said.
The defence and security expert said President Xi has an interest in avoiding any escalation at the moment due to a number of domestic issues, including the country's slowing economy and the fallout from his zero-Covid policy.
He added: "This is probably something they wish would just go away, that it's something they've been landed with."
But Pelosi's visit to Taipei, in which she told the island's president Washington "will not abandon Taiwan", has left Beijing with no other option than to escalate tensions.
Dr Kaushal explained: "Now they have to do something to demonstrate their red lines can't be crossed.
"For the Chinese leadership, it's the case of threading that needle that we're not appearing to do nothing but also not doing so much that you provoke a response you're absolutely not prepared for."
The US is in a similar position, Dr Kaushal believes, adding that both sides will "find it very difficult to climb down" from the current tensions.
"But that having been said, I don't doubt the Chinese will do something to make their displeasure felt," he said.
"But I still think it will be on the more cautious side of things."
China considers Taiwan part of its territory and has never renounced using force to bring it under its control.
The United States warned China against using the visit as a pretext for military action against Taiwan.
In retaliation, China's customs department announced a suspension of imports of citrus fruits, chilled white striped hairtail and frozen horse mackerel from Taiwan, while its commerce ministry banned export of natural sand to Taiwan.
China's foreign ministry said Pelosi's visit seriously damages peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait, "has a severe impact on the political foundation of China-US relations, and seriously infringes upon China's sovereignty and territorial integrity."
