AUTHOR
*Dr. Un Kheang, Professor of Political Science at the Northern Illinois University, a Visiting Professor at American University of Phnom Penh and Member of the Board of Director at Cambodia Development Center
ABOUT Opinion
On 2nd August, the Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives and the third highest ranking U.S. government office al, Nancy Pelosi, visited Taiwan. This visit drew strong responses from China that went beyond rhetoric to include massive military drills deep into Taiwan’s claimed territorial waters. Some questions remain unanswered. What prompted Speaker Pelosi to visit Taiwan? What caused such a strong reaction from China? What will be the potential fallout from the visit for Sino-U.S. relations and for the Southeast Asian region? What should ASEAN do as a regional forum?
To understand Nancy Pelosi’s visit and swift China’s responses, it is imperative that we look at domestic issues within China and the United States.
