Taiwan and Congressional Grandstanding

Members of Congress have important responsibilities in U.S. foreign policy, but in practice most of them shirk their real duties while engaging in destructive grandstanding.

The South China Morning Post reports the latest on the Pelosi trip controversy:

A visit to Taiwan by US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi may lead to an unprecedented risk of conflict between Beijing’s People’s Liberation Army and American forces, Chinese defence analysts warned.

The military experts said Beijing – which has threatened to “take resolute and forceful measures” if Pelosi insists on going ahead with her Taiwan trip – would go all out to stop her landing on the island, deploying diplomatic, economic and even military means.

Pelosi’s proposed visit has already become a major headache for the Biden administration, and it is bound to be a much bigger problem if the Speaker makes the mistake of following through on her plans. Except for the usual suspects among the China hawks, there aren’t a lot of people encouraging Pelosi to carry out her stunt, and it’s no wonder. There is no possible benefit to Taiwan or the relationship with Taiwan that is worth the potential risk that comes with such a high-profile provocation. If Pelosi is allowed to go through with it, the U.S. is risking an entirely unnecessary crisis over nothing.