The coming Taiwan tussle has echoes of the Cuban Missile Crisis

If China decides to engage the US in a game of chicken in the Taiwan Strait, it is safe to assume it would be extremely dangerous. Lest we forget, the fact that nuclear war did not break out in 1962 was largely a matter of luck

A pro-Beijing protester stamps on an image depicting the US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi at a protest outside the US Consulate in Hong Kong on Wednesday after Pelosi arrived in Taiwan late on Tuesday. Picture: Peter Parks / AFP via Getty Images

US House Speaker, and third in line to the presidency, 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.”