The recent visit of the Speaker of the US House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi to Taiwan has raised geopolitical tensions between China, Taiwan and the US. In response to Pelosi’s visit, ‘China fired missiles into the sea on all sides of Taiwan’s main island while fighter jets repeatedly crossed the unofficial border that runs down the middle of the strait’. In addition, China announced eight countermeasures in response to Pelosi’s visit, including cancelling China-US theater commanders talk, defense policy coordination talks, military maritime consultative agreement meetings, suspending China-US talks on climate change. If these countermeasures are executed, these will have profound negative implications for the world. For instance, US and China are the two largest carbon emitter countries. If these countries stop cooperating with each other on global climate change, then the helpless people from Bangladesh and Myanmar or other climate-vulnerable countries will be the ultimate sufferer. Bangladesh is already in a ‘climate emergency’.
In addition, the unannounced two-day visit by the US lawmakers led by Senator Ed Markey in Taipei will escalate the existing tensions between China and US over the Taiwan issue. It is worrying that China has already announced new military drills in response to US delegation visits.
China Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin criticized the delegation and warned that ‘China will take firm and effective measures to safeguard national sovereignty and territorial integrity’. China’s defense ministry has identified the US as ‘true agitator and breaker of peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait’.
– Dr. Md. Shariful Islam is an Assistant Professor at Department of International Relations, University of Rajshahi and Research Fellow at the KRF Center for Bangladesh and Global Affairs (CBGA), Bangladesh.
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