When Pelosi made the dragon bend

On August 2, Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the house of representatives in the USA, visited the tiny Island of Taiwan. This visit showed the world that China, no matter how strong it is today, is no match for the USA.

 

 

 

A fragile old woman, speaker Pelosi with her visit to Taiwan, exposed China’s weakness to the entire world.

 

 

 

This visit was the first visit by a high-level delegation from the US in 25 years. Incidentally in 1997, it was then House speaker Newt Gingrich who visited the island. In March 1996, President Clinton sent a couple of US navy aircraft carriers near the East China Sea and the Taiwan strait. These two carriers deterred China from invading Taiwan in 1996, ahead of the general elections in Taiwan. Beijing intended to send a message to the Taiwanese electorate that voting for Lee Teng-hui in the 1996 presidential election on March 23 meant war. A third set of PLA tests from March 8 to March 15 (just before the election), sent missiles within 46 to 65 km (25 to 35 NMI) (just inside the ROC's territorial waters) off the ports of Keelung and Kaohsiung. Over 70 percent of commercial shipping passed through the targeted ports, which were disrupted by the proximity of the tests. Flights to Japan and trans-Pacific flights were prolonged by ten minutes because airplanes needed to detour away from the flight path. Ships traveling between Kaohsiung and Hong Kong had to take a two-hour detour. President Clinton ordered additional ships into the region in March 1996. Two aircraft carrier battle groups, Carrier Group Five centered on USS Independence (CV-62), and Carrier Group Seven centered on Nimitz, were present in the region as well as the amphibious assault ship Belleau Wood. The Nimitz and her battle group and the Belleau Wood sailed through the Taiwan Strait, while the Independence did not. The crisis forced the Chinese leadership in 1996 to acknowledge its inability to stop U.S. forces from coming to Taiwan's assistance.

 

Also Read: US says "We do not support Taiwan independence" but asserts Nancy Pelosi has "right" to visit Taiwan 

 

Today, in 2022, Speaker Pelosi’s visit has done what two aircraft carrier battle groups did in 1996. It has also shown the diplomatic and Military prowess of the USA with its power projection capacity so far from its shores. While Pelosi’s plane was about to land in Taiwan, the increased activity of US military flights was observed at Japan’s Kadena airbase. Meanwhile, the US warships were cruising near Taiwan. This provided the US military with a much-needed PR to show its capacity to the world. To deter its enemies and assure its allies and friends.