Nancy Pelosi, speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, visited Taiwan recently, dealing a blow to China-U.S. relations and destabilizing regional security. The visit also provides a reference point for the future.

Successive white papers shed light on national leaders’ approach to reunification with Taiwan. All explain and respond to critics, emphasizing a policy of peaceful reunification and the implementation of the one country, two systems concept.

Worried about Taiwan’s fate, Washington imagines that the Chinese mainland might copy Russia and resort to force. Biden administration officials have said they want to see Taiwan apply the lessons learned from Ukraine’s resistance.

The South China Sea has been the backdrop for so many international conflicts that few remember the Declaration of Conduct which governs activity in the testy waters. Now, 25 years later under new circumstances, a new agreement may be able to help lighten tensions in the Sea - if it can get passed.

South Korea has become a dynamic economic force in the 21st century - and as a neighbor of China that hosts multiple U.S. army bases, has grown increasingly important as a potential player in the Quad’s designs for a security encirclement of China.

Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi defied China’s strong opposition and voices of caution in the United States when she visited Taiwan in late July. She raised great concern in China and elsewhere and cast a dark shadow over the peace and stability of the region and China-U.S. relations. In the future, China and the United States must prevent the Taiwan question from triggering a downward spiral.

Pushing shamelessness and political amnesia to new heights, U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi sneaked into Taiwan in early August for a visit that was a needless affront. Needlessly inflaming tensions, the trip was wrong at three levels: China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, relations with the United States and principles of international order anchored by the 1943 Cairo Declaration and the 1945 Potsdam Proclamation.

US Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi’s arrival in Taiwan has incited a predictably strong response from China. Chinese warplanes have brushed up against the median line dividing the Taiwan Strait. The Chinese foreign ministry has warned of “serious consequences” as a result of Pelosi’s visit to the island. Chinese President Xi Jinping has told US President Joe Biden that “those who play with fire will perish by it.” And now, China has just announced a major military exercise with live-fire drills starting August 4 (just after Pelosi leaves Taiwan). The specter of military confrontation looms large.

Pelosi's visit to Taiwan set the stage for heightened tensions.

If China and the United States could identify specific collaborative projects, break the bottlenecks of international supply chains and provide assistance to countries suffering from shortages from food to energy, normal relations could be restored.