Not content with fighting the autocrats in the Kremlin, Nancy Pelosi yesterday opened up a new front in the war against autocracy by landing in Taipei, Taiwan. Her plane was escorted by five US fighter jets and was described by the Chinese Government as an invasion. Invasion, it wasn’t, but it was a definite challenge to China similar to the challenge that Russia faced as Nato alliances were formed with former soviet block countries after the Soviet Union fell in the 90’s.
So the US has now, albeit quietly, declared war on Russia and now China. This escalation is inevitable due to the challenge that countries like China, Iran, Russia and India pose to US hegemony. Sanctions on Russia after its military operation in Ukraine, have led to these countries forming deeper alliances. China is buying more oil and gas from Russia for example while decrying NATO expansion in estern Europe.
Most western nations now, have vast quantities of debt, while the eastern alliance that is forming has a wealth of commodities and little by way of economic strife, western sanctions notwithstanding. The German economy, reliant on cheap Russian gas for many years, is crumbling, due to Gazprom restricting gas supplies to just 20% of that supplied the previous year. The German car industry, worth billions in exports, uses 33% of all imported gas. Layoffs and redundancies may become the norm over the coming winter as energy is rationed.
So, Pelosi thumbing her nose at China on behalf of the USA and its allies, is definitely meant to provoke a military reaction, namely, a Chinese invasion of Taiwan. The USA can no longer idly sit and watch as alliances are formed which threaten its position of hegemony. It has decided to flex its muscles to bring these countries back into line in its “rules based order”. There is no doubt that the US military is formidable, but China and Russia are nuclear powers and this war will be a harder one to win than previous encounters in Iraq, Afghanistan and Libya. Hopefully peaceful solutions can be found before it is too late, however, Pelosi has just lit the touchpaper that could easily lead to World War Three.
Oktoberfest and Christmas Markets may be cancelled this year due to Russian gas insufficiences