© Malaysia’s Department of Information via AP/TASS

Something that politicians and analysts have been talking about a lot in these recent days, and the world's media have been reporting on, has finally happened. July 2 saw Speaker of the US Congress’ House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi land in Taiwan. By doing so, she defied all the warnings from the White House and the Pentagon, as well as outspoken criticism on the part of official Beijing. The visit by Pelosi, the US third most high-ranking official, to Taiwan has overshadowed even what is now happening in Ukraine.

Boeing C-40C with Nancy Pelosi onboard landed in Taiwan’s administrative capital of Taipei late on August 2.  Instead of heading directly for the island, the plane took off from Malaysia’s Kuala Lumpur, flew through the airspace of Indonesia, and then made a landing approach east of the Philippines from the Pacific Ocean. Thus, it bypassed skies over the South China Sea, with its waters replete with Chinese Navy warships.

Nancy Pelosi, 82, is visiting the "island of discord" as part of her Asian tour that includes stops in Singapore, Malaysia, South Korea and Japan. The officially stated purpose of Pelosi's trip is to negotiate trade, security, climate change and COVID-19 pandemic issues. And virtually, it is meant to demonstrate the United States' allied ties with these countries in confronting China.

Having accomplished negotiations in Singapore and Kuala Lumpur, Nancy Pelosi decided to call on Taiwan for a while before visiting Seoul and Tokyo. But her short stop on the disputed island is fraught with the most serious consequences both for relations between Beijing and Washington, and for the entire world community. A tough confrontation between the two world’s largest economies may topple the entire global economy.

Pelosi did not initially place Taiwan on the destination list over safety concerns. And she does have something to fear. When she announced her possible visit to Taipei, China’s response was not long in coming. In a telephone conversation with his American counterpart Joe Biden back on July 28, Chinese President Xi Jinping said Beijing vigorously protested against any external interference in the Taiwan issue. "The public opinion cannot be defied. Those who play with fire will get burned. I hope the US side can see this clearly," the Chinese leader said back then.

Before long, the Chinese Foreign Ministry got bitterly critical of Pelosi's possible visit to Taiwan. Its spokesman Zhao Lijian said this trip would have serious consequences and force China to act decisively in order to protect state sovereignty and territorial integrity. According to him, Pelosi's visit might be a drastic interference in Beijing's internal affairs and violation of the One China policy.

Beijing also warned about a "military" response in case Pelosi reaches Taiwan at the end of the day. In confirmation of this commitment, China sent two aircraft carriers to the Taiwan Strait area – the Liaoning and the Shandong. Moreover, a strong force of the Eastern Military District of the People's Liberation Army of China (PLA) entered the zone amid their several-day-long live firing exercises that have grown a lot more intense with Pelosi's arrival in Taipei.

Moreover, the Chinese have launched a supersonic missile, doing this as overtly as possible – an unusual thing for the Chinese military. Beijing claims that the enemy's air defense is powerless against the new supersonic weapons possessed by the PLA, which, by the way, celebrated the 95th foundation anniversary on August 1, and called the missile a formidable weapon against any class of warships, including aircraft carriers.

In turn, the Pentagon sent an aircraft carrier strike group led by the USS Ronald Reagan to the waters of Taiwan. It also comprises the USS Antietam missile cruiser and the USS Higgins destroyer. Apart from that, the air-capable all-purpose landing ships America and Tripoli cruise about the island in the north. Some experts do not rule out a direct armed clash between the ships of the Chinese Navy and the United States, which will have serious implications up to the outbreak of a new world war.

Fortunately, that's not going to happen so far, but the situation remains extremely tense as Nancy Pelosi stays in Taiwan. The Chinese Su-35 fighters sent to the Taiwan Strait did not intercept the Boeing C-40C special board, but Beijing still voiced protest over Pelosi's visit to Taiwan, as outlined in a relevant statement by the Chinese Foreign Ministry. "On August 2, Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, is visiting Taiwan despite China’s strong opposition and solemn representations. Which is a serious violation of the One China principle and three joint Sino-American communiques."

Notably, the US official’s trip has affected the political foundation of ties between Beijing and Washington, violating China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, undermining peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait and sending the wrong message to separatist forces advocating "Taiwan independence." "China firmly opposes and sternly condemns this, and has made serious démarche and strong protest to the United States," the Chinese Foreign Ministry stressed in its statement.

Upon her arrival in Taiwan Nancy Pelosi herself issued a written statement to express confidence that her trip in no way contradicts the American leadership’s official policy towards the island. She called it evidence of the US unwavering support for the dynamically developing Taiwanese democracy.

Moscow also responded to Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taiwan. Thus, Press Secretary of the Russian President Dmitry Peskov said Russia would remain at one with China as regards its stance on Taiwan. He believes Pelosi's visit cannot but instigate growing tensions in the region. A similar opinion was expressed by Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova, who said Russia deemed Pelosi's visit to Taiwan as another provocation by the US administration needed to put the screws on China. "As an Asia-Pacific state, Russia hopes that the Taiwan problem will be resolved without prejudice to peace and stability in the region," the diplomat said.

In conclusion, we note that Nancy Pelosi was reported to be going to stay on the island until late August 3, after spending the night at the Grand Hyatt Hotel. On Wednesday, she is set to meet with local MPs and President of Taiwan Tsai Ing-wen.