Rivalry of the ‘superheroes’

THE jury is still out on the impact of US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan after nearly two weeks.

Whatever the real reasons for her trip to Taiwan are and what good it served, for sure it has only heightened the tension between the United States and China.

Unfortunately, too, what many countries in the region feared has now become reality: Taiwan is now a flashpoint in this latest spat between the two superpowers. Asean – several members of which have overlapping claims in the South China Sea with China – is tiptoeing rather nervously.

Amid Pelosi’s overnight trip and China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi’s fierce reaction to it, in addition to China’s military drills around Taiwan, Asean foreign ministers who were in Phnom Penh for their annual gathering issued a standalone statement expressing their concern about the cross-straits development.

The four-paragraph statement said Asean is concerned about international and regional volatility, especially in the light of recent developments in the area adjacent with the Asean region, which could destabilise the region and eventually could lead to miscalculation, serious confrontation, open conflicts and unpredictable consequences among major powers.

“Asean calls for maximum restraint, refrain from provocative action and for upholding the principles enshrined in United Nations Charter and the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in South-East Asia (TAC). We reiterate Asean members’ support for their respective One-China Policy.

“We should act together and Asean stands ready to play a constructive role in facilitating peaceful dialogue among all parties, including through utilising Asean-led mechanisms to de-escalate tension, and to safeguard peace, security and development in our region.”

In Phnom Penh too “dramas” were aplenty during a foreign ministerial meeting involving 10 Asean members and Japan, China, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand, India, the United States and Russia, which saw a walkout by Wang and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov as their Japanese counterpart spoke. They protested Japan’s criticism of Beijing’s military exercises and its condemnation of Moscow’s current invasion of Ukraine which began in February.

Various media outlets too reported that Wang had cancelled a meeting with Japan’s Yoshimasa Hayashi in Cambodia slated a day earlier, as China cited displeasure over a Group of 7 foreign ministers’ statement urging China to resolve tension over Taiwan peacefully.

“We are concerned by recent and announced threatening actions by China, particularly live-fire exercises and economic coercion, which risk unnecessary escalation. There is no justification to use a visit as pretext for aggressive military activity in the Taiwan Strait. It is normal and routine for legislators from our countries to travel internationally. The PRC’s escalatory response risks increasing tensions and destabilising the region,” said the G7 statement. G7 comprises Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, the United States and the European Union.

During an Asean gala dinner for foreign ministers at the Cambodia meet, Wang reportedly walked out of the venue just moments before the dinner started. While the tension around the region is showing no sign of abating, the House Speaker, who was the highest-ranking elected US official to visit Taiwan in 25 years, remained defiant after her return home. In one of her interviews, Pelosi said that her trip was worth it as “what the Chinese are doing is what they usually do”, in reference to the military exercises.

Taiwan’s 23 million people have long lived with the possibility of an invasion, but that threat has intensified under President Xi Jinping.

China considers the self-ruled, democratic island as its territory and has vowed to one day reclaim it, by force if necessary.

One observer has aptly described the rivalry between the two countries: “Ame-ricans are purposely stirring problems in this area. They never like to have rivals as the undisputed superhero.

“China is lecturing the region not to complain that it is enjoying the warmth of Chinese friendly gestures,” he said.

Another observer felt that the Chinese believed that it is their rightful place to be the hegemony in this part of the world.

“But perhaps they also believe that they have a different conception and way of projecting their hegemonic role compared with the West,” he said.

One diplomat questions that if China steadfastly believes that Taiwan is part of its territory, why is Beijing making such a rumble.

“Pelosi’s visit will not change how the US treats Taiwan.”

China, said another foreign observer, will not keep quiet and will show off their might to the world.

“Don’t forget the US navy has challenged China’s claims in the South China Sea by sending a warship on a freedom of navigation operation. You think China will keep quiet?”

Under the United Nations Convention of the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS 1982), ships of all states – including warships – enjoy the right of innocent passage through territorial seas as long as it is not prejudicial to the peace, good order or security of the coastal state. For the record the US has not ratified UNCLOS while China is party to the treaty.

Unfortunately, the developments surrounding Taiwan have overshadowed the Asean foreign ministers meeting in Cambodia and diverted attention from the grouping’s efforts to end the crisis in Myanmar.

As the world continues to watch developments in the area, the region continues to be on edge and is “picking up the pieces” left behind by hurricane Nancy.