On Tuesday (August 2), US Speaker Nancy Pelosi and her delegation landed in Taiwan, ending speculation over a visit not mentioned in the official itinerary of her ongoing tour of East Asia. Even when it was unconfirmed if Pelosi would visit Taiwan, Chinese President Xi Jinping, as well as China's Foreign Ministry, had warned the US against sending a senior government official to the island that China considers its own province. Pelosi, a vocal critic of China for decades, said in a statement after landing in Taiwan: “Sadly, Taiwan has been prevented from participating in global meetings, most recently the World Health Organization, because of objections by the Chinese Communist Party. While they may prevent Taiwan from sending its leaders to global forums, they cannot prevent world leaders or anyone from traveling to Taiwan to pay respect to its flourishing Democracy, to highlight its many successes and to reaffirm our commitment to continued collaboration." China, meanwhile, began drills and launched five ballistic missiles, which landed in Japan’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ), Japanese defence minister Nobuo Kishi said on Thursday (August 8). Pelosi landed in Japan on the same day as part of her tour. There are signs of tension in the region due to the chain of events set off earlier this week, and experts are not sure what the endpoint may be. Here is a quick recap of all that has happened, and why:
