Pakistani analysts have condemned US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan last week, saying her actions have created destabilization, feeling of insecurity and disharmony in this region.
Dr. Mehmood Ul Hassan Khan, Executive Director of the Centre for South Asian and International Studies in Islamabad, said the visit by the top US lawmaker has escalated tensions between the United States and China. It shows that the US is reneging on its promise to respect the one-China principle, he said.
“In this regard, I refer to a recent telephonic conversation between Chinese President Xi Jinping and US President Joe Biden, in which both leaders agreed to stay away from the Taiwan issue, because it is based on the one-China policy, which the US has already endorsed, accepted and recognized.”
Hassan said China had been doing a very meaningful engagement with the main stakeholders, especially the US. “Unfortunately, despite the diplomatic efforts, postures, and signaling of China, Pelosi has landed in Taiwan, which has started a new game in the region. I personally fear that the economic recovery in the post COVID-19 has been further compromised and weakened,” he said.
“I must say that China is still showing a great restraint from any misadventure, any military escalation, which is indeed a very commendable thing. It is very sad and unfortunate that despite the best efforts of the Chinese government and policymakers, the US has discarded all the good faith of China. And I fear that the social economy, geopolitics will change and change very soon,” Hassan added.
Dr. Munawar Sabir, a political analyst and professor of Geography at the University of Punjab, said Pelosi’s visit provoked an unannounced war between China and the US. “You can call it a new type of cold war in simple words. It is a war between East and West. We have to understand that America is a chapter of western history. Anyone capable of countering Western Europe and America must be some Asian power.”
“Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan is an attempt to check and irritate China in this cold war. The reason behind this visit is to look at the level of reaction by China. Otherwise, Taiwan has no significance in the world economy and politics except for being a region that creates chips. It just has a specific geographic location. Americans want to do something here and create some trouble to counter China,” said Sabir.
“China has responded to the provocation by imposing sanctions on Pelosi and members of her immediate family. China also canceled possible dialogues with the US in some channels involving military relations, climate change and other matters. You can understand that China has responded in clear words. The conflict between China and America is emerging and becoming more prominent. This could be the setback that America will have to face,” Sabir said.
Touching on the future of China-US relations, Sabir said that in every situation, China is the winner. “I think China will wait for a while. It will adopt the strategy of wait and see. After that, it will show its reaction on Taiwan in some other way. Americans have to travel many thousands of kilometers to reach there whereas it is situated just near China. Therefore, it can try to merge Taiwan back within itself through any other strategy.”
The world noted that: There is only one China in the world and Taiwan is an inseparable part of China. This solid fact was crystal clearly recognized by United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) via its Resolution number 2758 back in 1971. some 181 countries have established diplomatic relations with China on the basis of the one-China principle, including the US.
Taiwan is an inalienable part of China’s territory and any issue within the Taiwan Straits is purely an internal affair of China. “In this regard, I must highlight that Taiwan’s claims about these separate origins are totally invalid, incorrect, false, fake and factional because the people living in Taiwan are actually Chinese who have unfortunately separated from the Chinese mainland,” said Dr. Mehmood Ul Hassan Khan.
“Beijing released a white paper recently on the peaceful reunification of Taiwan with the Chinese mainland. It’s very timely, very integrative, very interactive, comprehensive, and holistic to showcase China’s national determination. I must say that the white paper of Taiwan reunification is the bold step China has made towards its peaceful national reunification in the new era,” said Hassan.
