War-hungry China will be 'forced into military action' against US on Taiwan's 'red line'

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Maritime warfare expert Sidharth Kaushal says China wouldn't invade Taiwan "on a whim", but Beijing lawmakers will feel of being cornered by Nancy Pelosi's visit

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Nancy Pelosi from the United States arrives in the Taiwanese capital, Taipei

China will be forced to retaliate against the United States in a confrontation over its Taiwanese policy 'red line', a defense expert says.

After the United States' second most powerful lawmaker landed in Taiwan last night, China sprang into action - with an explosion of military activity in the waters surrounding the self-governing island.

The visit by US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi has infuriated Beijing, with President Xi Jinping's government summoning the US ambassador to the capital this morning.

They also halted several agricultural imports from Taiwan - an economic bullet for the island which remains closely tied financially to the Chinese mainland.

Taiwan's Ministry of Defense has indicated that some of China's planned military exercises will also take place within the island's 12-nautical-mile sea and air territory, an unprecedented move.

A senior defense official called the reports “equivalent to a sea and air blockade of Taiwan.”

De Sidharth Kaushal, maritime warfare expert at the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI), told the Mirror that the bold response has come from a leadership that feels cornered.

A video taken on Twitter yesterday shows Chinese artillery moving on the beaches of Fujian (

Picture:

Twitter)

And having been "forced to act", Beijing may decide to scale up its response to include even stronger incursions, says Dr Kasuhal.

Prof Kaushal told the Mirror: "For them [China] they probably feel, to some extent, that they've been forced to act because of this, that they have to do something, otherwise their position in Taiwan will go further and erode further."

He added that Chinese leaders would not invade Taiwan "on a whim" or reactively, but it would be something...