Taiwanese media expect him to land around 10:40 p.m. local time at Songshan airport, but the arrival of the Speaker of the Lower House of the US Congress, Nancy Pelosi, in Taiwan, has already shaken diplomacy and the markets, although it is not confirmed by the White House. China is warning with a major response and, meanwhile, the main stock market indices in Shanghai and Hong Kong have opened the day with losses of around two points.
When Pelosi steps foot on Taiwan, she will become the highest-ranking US politician to visit the island in 25 years. Given this, China, which considers Taiwan as part of its territory, has promised a military response. "Whoever plays with fire gets burned," Chinese President Xi Jinping warned his US counterpart Joe Biden in a telephone conversation last week.
"China will not sit idly by" if Pelosi's much-talked-about visit takes place, Chinese Defense Ministry spokesman Tan Kefei later added.
China claims sovereignty over the island and has considered Taiwan a rebellious province since the Kuomintang nationalists withdrew there in 1949 after losing the civil war against the communists. Taiwan, with which the North American country does not maintain official relations, is one of the main sources of conflict between China and the US, mainly because Washington is Taiwan's main arms supplier and would be its greatest military ally in the event of a conflict. war conflict with the Asian giant.
And this Tuesday, when Pelosi is expected to arrive, the words have begun to become deeds. The China Maritime Safety Administration has announced military exercises in the South China Sea – near the coast of the southern Chinese island of Hainan, located just over 1,000 kilometers from Taiwan – and in the Bohai Sea.
In addition, this Tuesday morning several Chinese fighter planes have flown over the line that divides the Taiwan Strait, according to a Taiwanese official quoted by the Financial Times. Likewise, a destroyer ship of the Chinese Army was parked this morning about 80 kilometers from the coast of Lanyu Island, located in turn, 88 kilometers from the city of Hualien, on the east coast of Taiwan, reports the news agency of CNA Island.
In response to the Chinese maneuvers, Taiwan has increased its alert level for combat, according to the same agency on Tuesday. This level of alert will remain until Thursday at noon, despite the fact that the Taiwanese authorities have not officially adjusted the level to "emergency", indicates CNA. This, yes, could change in the coming days "depending on the level of threat posed by the Chinese Army," they add.
This escalation of tension has also had its echo in the stock markets, in particular in the two benchmark indices for Shanghai and Hong Kong, which fell by around 2% this Tuesday morning, -after a slight rebound after hovering around falls in the 3%-. The Nikkei records losses of around 1.5%.
Meanwhile, long-term US Treasury yields are falling to four-month lows, dragging the dollar lower, amid a move to safer assets after China threatened to repercussions.
Meanwhile, Pelosi visited the Kuala Lumpur Parliament in Malaysia on Tuesday, which is the second stop on her Asian tour, after having been in Singapore the day before. The tour also includes stops in South Korea and Japan and, presumably, Taiwan. The Taiwanese newspapers The United Daily News, Liberty Times and China Times cite anonymous sources to confirm that he will spend Tuesday night on the island and will remain there on Wednesday, although no official US source has confirmed this latest information, although they acknowledge that he has contacted with the local authorities to visit them.
