Hong Kong Media: "Pelosi's Visit to Taiwan Marks the Biggest US-China Crisis Since the Korean War"

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunwoo Lee] Hong Kong media Ming Pao evaluated that the visit of Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, to Taiwan has brought the relationship between the United States and China to its greatest crisis since the Korean War. It warned that the situation could escalate to a hair-trigger moment similar to the Cuban Missile Crisis of the 1960s.

On the 3rd, Ming Pao stated in an editorial, "Neither the United States nor China seems to want to go to war over Pelosi's political move, but Pelosi's visit to Taiwan clearly challenges China's core interests, and as a result, the U.S. and China in the new Cold War era are facing their first major crisis," adding, "Speaker Pelosi's visit to Taiwan is only the overture to this crisis."

It continued, "The Chinese People's Liberation Army announced that it will conduct military exercises resembling a blockade of Taiwan in six areas around Taiwan for five consecutive days," adding, "If the situation worsens, it could develop into a 21st-century version of the 'Cuban Missile Crisis'." The Cuban Missile Crisis was an event during the Cold War in 1962 when the former Soviet Union attempted to deploy nuclear missiles in Cuba, close to the United States, leading to a confrontation between the U.S. and the Soviet Union, and is considered the closest moment humanity has come to nuclear war.

Ming Pao pointed out, "Pelosi, known for her anti-China stance, became the first Democratic Speaker in U.S. history to set foot in Taiwan, but she damaged the U.S.'s standing in the region," and added, "She ultimately chose to fight, but if she truly was not afraid of interception by the People's Liberation Army, there would have been no need for the plane she was on to deliberately avoid the South China Sea and take a detour."

It further added, "Just because China refuses to undertake a military adventure to block Speaker Pelosi's trip to Taiwan does not mean it lacks the capability." According to Taiwanese media, the C-40C private plane carrying Speaker Pelosi and her party took off from Kuala Lumpur International Airport in Malaysia and, instead of taking the usual route through the South China Sea to Taiwan, took a somewhat rightward detour and arrived at Songshan Airport in Taiwan.

By avoiding the South China Sea route, which China claims sovereignty over, and passing through Indonesian and Philippine airspace, the flight took two hours longer than the usual five-hour flight time from Malaysia to Taiwan. An anonymous Taiwan expert told Ming Pao, "The real danger may occur when Pelosi leaves Taiwan or after she departs," and observed, "An incident similar to a plane collision could happen, and the conflict might not be between the U.S. and China, but between China and Taiwan."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.