Pelosi’s visit disrupts global peace

The United States can no longer tout itself as an upholder of global peace and security. Speaker of the US House of Representatives, Nanci Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan despite repeated warnings from the Chinese leadership demonstrates the utter callousness of Washington’s approach to conflict resolution. It also reveals its controversial modus operandi operationalized in Taiwan with this visit being an affront to international principles of mutual respect, tolerance and coexistence. The truth is that there was no basis for Pelosi’s visit beyond fomenting discord and undermining peace and Beijing has every right to respond.

The visit has been described as ‘reckless’ by political commentator, author and Pulitzer Prize winner, Thomas Friedman while Director of the Asia program at the German Marshall Fund of the United States, Bonnie Glaser considers it to be a dangerous gamble. Both descriptions carry merit as Pelosi deliberately undermined numerous bilateral agreements between the People’s Republic of China and the United States which affirm a commitment to the One-China Principle. Instead she sought to reach out to a leadership which has a history of promoting separatism and secession. While the Biden administration purportedly claims to uphold the One China Principle, in essence Pelosi’s visit exposes the disconnect between theory and practice in American policy making which is a recipe for disaster.

Pelosi’s justifications are also untenable. By quoting the Taiwan Relations Act of 1979 as the basis for defending Tsai Ing-wen’s government in Taipei, she conveniently sidestepped America’s history of arms sales to Taiwan as well as weaponization and militarization of the Taiwan Straits. Furthermore, this visit took place despite talks in Bali, Indonesia, where Foreign Minister Wang Yi claimed that the United States must abide by its bilateral commitments such as the joint communiques and refrain from threatening state sovereignty. Yet Pelosi’s claims in the Washington Post suggest otherwise. She touched upon an array of subjects ranging from Tibet to Hong Kong and pointed to a need for the Asia Pacific to stand in solidarity against China. These are nefarious designs aimed at undercutting China’s national priorities, not expressions of solidarity.

In fact, the actual purpose of this visit was to stoke tensions by brandishing the democracy card yet adopting tactics which are anti-democratic, unconstructive and disruptive in nature. Note how the United States has violated international consensus on Taiwan as not a single country with diplomatic relations with China sidelined warnings and undertook controversial visits on sovereign territory. Instead, upholding the One China Principle is the cornerstone of international diplomatic principles on China. Pelosi, however, has ignored these facts and expressed solidarity with the Taiwanese leadership instead. This is the same leadership which was a recipient of draconian weapons, as was the case in 2020 when the Biden administration signed a $245 million arms deal. Yet despite this, the Chinese leadership has repeatedly reminded Washington D.C. that its policies are counterproductive and necessitate a massive revamp. The US, however, has refused to change course and Pelosi’s solo odyssey violates international principles.

Pelosi also draws false equivalence between the Ukraine War and China’s claims to Taiwan while justifying her controversial visit. The linkages drawn ignore the importance placed by China on the peaceful reunification of Taiwan and also reveal a complete lack of historical sensitivity. Pelosi cannot sideline how the very same Taiwan leadership ignored the 1992 consensus between China and Taiwan which established a basis for cross strait diplomatic relations with a platform for dialogue. The duplicity and double standards are glaring and must be called out by the international community as American incursions into sovereign territory.

Pelosi’s trip has destroyed the American reputation of abiding by the One China Principle and has demonstrated how personal considerations have triumphed over collective wisdom. While the United States has never been considered a harbinger of establishing international reputations, Pelosi’s solo prerogatives have endangered peace in the South China Sea. Singapore’s leadership for example, has been particularly alarmed by such developments and has once again cautioned all sides to exercise neutrality in the wake of unipolarity. Similarly, snubs by ASEAN over American designs of convincing capitals to counter China is a glaring example of how peace and stability continues to be undermined due to Washington D.C’s regressive approach.

Pelosi has headed back to a country where she may have ambitions to become the next President, particularly as President Biden witnesses declining approval rates. Yet to masquerade as a saviour of democracy while play electoral politics at home, underlines a duplicitous and hypocritical approach which reflects badly on American foreign policy. This is despite the fact that the Biden administration disapproved of antagonizing China while also seeking to tinker with regional dynamics by warning Beijing over its own sovereign moves which backfired glaringly in front of Washington D.C.

Hence, China’s responses to such visits are justified. The United States’ policy disrupts peace with Pelosi’s visit violating international consensus on China’s sovereign priorities.

The writer is an Assistant Research Associate at the Islamabad Policy Research Institute