Could Nancy Pelosi’s visit spark a war between China and Taiwan?

It is not the first time that China and Taiwan have been the protagonists of high tensions that divide, once again, the world in two. This new chapter began a few months ago between calls from the president of the United States, Joe Biden, and Xi Jinping, the Chinese president.

Between conversations, China mentioned its interest in regaining control of Taiwanwhile the US claimed to help said island to become independent.

However, this week the alerts were lit due to the trip of the president of the US House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, to Taipei, the capital of that island.

China was quick to announce military moves in the Taiwan Strait, while the press covered the arrival of Pelosi’s plane.

How did the conflicts between China and Taiwan start?

Taiwan was discovered by China in 232 AD, when they were conducting an expedition. Later, it became a Dutch colony, and years later it was administered by the Qing dynasty from 1883 to 1895.

In 1985, after a Japanese victory, China ceded Taiwan to this country. And after Japan’s defeat in World War II, it gave up the territories it occupied in China.

Thus, China took over the island with the consent of the United States and the United Kingdom, but China’s civil war, which began in 1927, continued after the end of World War II.

the troops of Chian Kai Shek were defeated by the communists Mao Zedong. This is how they took refuge on the island.

They inherited a de facto dictatorship, and began a process of democratization on the island, where President Lee Teng-hui, known as the “father of democracy” led changes in the constitution to be able to elect the first president in 2000.

After decades of bad times, China and Taiwan wanted to unite and China said it was “one country, two systems”, but Taiwan refused.

In the elections Chen Shui-ban won, which alarmed Beijing as this politician was seeking independence. He was re-elected and China passes the so-called anti-secession law in 2005.

For 2016, the current president of Taiwan, Tsa ing-wen, who also bows to formal independence from China, was elected.

A possible war between Taiwan and China

The ghosts of war are not only among Russia and UkraineInstead, Taipei could be facing a sudden attack from China.

The Chinese president had already mentioned his claim for Taiwan in the face of the “strengthening” of the nation, just as Putin did with Ukraine.

Currently, Taiwan’s military defense is weak, and President Tasi Ing-wen has promised to defend the island, but has problems with military strategies.

Of course, it is known that the island spends billions of dollars on combat aircraft and more. Still it has flaws, such as a very short mandatory military service.

Now there is the doubt is about the help of the United States. Last May, Joe Biden signaled that the US would help, but offered no explicit security guarantees. This conduct would occur so as not to upset Beijing.

The concern is centered on maneuvers that would be the intentional or unintentional prelude to a conflict. “We cannot wait, we are against the clock”, Michael Tsai noted.

While an all-out attack on Taiwan is more complicated than Russia’s attack on Ukraine, some Taiwanese and US defense officials believe Beijing could take place in the next few years.

Third World war?

China’s first response was military calls before Pelosi’s arrival. Many immediately pointed out that it could be a cold war.

However, specialists point out that the decisions of the US and China could only affect the island.

Brian Hioe, editor of New Bloom Magazine, told Blu Radio that Biden could not stop Pelosi’s arrival, because he does not have that authority.

“Biden cannot take away Pelosi’s legitimacy while she is making her visit, the fact that she has that rank and does not separate herself from the American government makes China associate her as a threat”, assured.

Another detail is that the international media saw what happened from another perspective, while the Taiwanese population, who are indeed the affected ones, saw it with fear in the face of new security measures. “We do not perceive a third world war”he concluded.