Nancy’s Pelosi’s Taiwan visit saw crowds and protests: World in photos

In the end, the visit lasted less than 20 hours. A blink, really, for a trip that has been the subject of speculation and tension for weeks, and which may have a profound and long-lasting impact.

These photos cover House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s (D-Calif.) visit to Taiwan, the response she received there and the fury it has brought from China — in rhetorical terms and in its military response as well. The latter is taking the form of air and naval exercises that are among the largest in scale and closest in proximity to Taiwan of any prior Chinese drills in the Taiwan Strait. The People’s Liberation Army Air Force flew more than 20 war planes into Taiwan’s air defense identification zone, and the Taiwanese responded with planes of their own. There have been no outright confrontations, but the tensions have rarely been higher.

“We will not abandon our commitment to Taiwan, and we are proud of our enduring friendship,” Pelosi said at her meeting with Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen. “Now more than ever, American solidarity with Taiwan is crucial. That’s the message we’re bringing here.” But as Grid has reported, the message was not in sync with the White House, and its timing — if not the visit itself — was questioned by several leading experts on Taiwan and US-China relations.

The exercises aren’t over — nor are the broader “aftershocks” of the visit, as Grid’s China Reporter Lili Pike called them. For now, these photos provide a sense of Pelosi’s visit and consequences they have already set in motion.

China sent warships and aircraft into waters near Taiwan on Friday despite growing international criticism of its military exercises, including a call from Japan’s leader to stop them immediately.

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida of Japan called for the halt after meeting in Tokyo with Pelosi, whose high-profile visit to Taiwan this week infuriated China and led to the military drills. On Thursday, five missiles fired by China landed in waters claimed by Japan for its exclusive economic use.

Kishida said the drills were having “a serious impact on the peace and stability of the region and the world,” Kyodo News reported.