Pelosi’s Taiwan Visit Triggers Unprecedented Chinese Military Drills, Raising Strait Crisis to Decades-High Level

From August 2, 2022, U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's controversial visit to Taiwan provoked a swift and forceful response from the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA), which launched unprecedented large-scale military exercises encircling the island, effectively redefining the status quo in the Taiwan Strait.

U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi proceeded with a visit to Taiwan in August, despite strong warnings from the Chinese government. In response, the Chinese PLA immediately launched unprecedented, large-scale live-fire military exercises lasting several days in six zones surrounding the island. The exercises expanded into a "lockdown" of the island and included the first-ever launch of ballistic missiles over Taiwan's airspace, several of which landed in Japan's Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), alarming regional allies. China also suspended bilateral dialogue mechanisms with the U.S. in areas including climate change and military affairs.

This incident pushed tensions in the Taiwan Strait to their highest point since 1996, prompting widespread international concern over potential military conflict. From a conservative viewpoint, Pelosi's visit was seen as a crucial gesture to counter China’s "coercive diplomacy," while China’s reaction was viewed as a major threat to regional stability. This further prompted the U.S. and its allies to enhance military support for Taiwan and strengthen joint defense cooperation in the Indo-Pacific, deepening the strategic confrontation between the U.S. and China in the Western Pacific.