WA few hours ahead of Nancy Pelosi’s expected arrival in Taipei, China has stepped up military activities in the Taiwan Strait. The “speaker” of the American House of Representatives is expected in the Taiwanese capital in the afternoon German time. According to the Financial Times newspaper, a meeting with President Tsai Ing-wen is planned for Wednesday. According to the Reuters news agency, several Chinese military planes flew very close to the unofficial median line that bisects the Taiwan Strait as a kind of buffer on Tuesday. The agency quoted an unidentified source as describing the Chinese crackdown as “very provocative.” The planes “touched” the center line several times during tactical maneuvers. While China has described the centerline as “nonexistent,” its military did not purposefully fly over it for twenty years as of 2019, and still rarely does. The “Financial Times” reported that units of the Chinese military’s East Regional Command had been put on increased operational readiness. The newspaper referred to defense politicians from countries neighboring China.
