China being desperate or vindictive?

The visit of Nancy Pelosi, the US House Speaker's visit to Taiwan, the Chinese threats notwithstanding, has been like a slap on the face of China. Consequent to it, China holds largest-ever war games around Taiwan. Is it out of a misplaced bravado on the part of the Chinese leadership or a retaliatory measure, one wonders but it will definitely not be good in the interest of world peace.

Pelosi's visit has put a serious question to the 'one-China policy' talked about thus far. The concerned parties had avoided doing anything to jeopardise this arrangement. 

China's Actions post-Pelosi's Taipei Visit

China named it as 'local drills' which involved a conventional missile fire-power assault in waters to the east of Taiwan. It fired ballistic missiles and deployed fighter jets and warships as it held its largest-ever military exercises around Taiwan.

Was it a show of force sparked by the visit of a high-profile US official to the island in years, defying stark threats from Beijing? The series of exercises were conducted in multiple zones around the island nation, straddling some of the busiest shipping lanes in the world and at some points just 20 km from the island's shore.

Furthermore, a few AFP journalists saw a batch of five military choppers flying at a relatively low height over a popular tourist resort after having taken off from China's closest point to Taiwan. The exercises are supposed to go on till mid-Sunday.

Meanwhile, Japan has said that a few of the Chinese missiles had fallen in its waters.

My take

What does one make out of these provocative actions by the Chinese? Is Xi Jinping trying to put up a brave front for the loss of face he got by the Pelosi visit to Taiwan and being plain vindictive on the island nation? Or is he being desperate by cocking a snook at the US, thinking that it would avoid doing anything precipitous just as it did in the case of providing help to Ukraine, in its times of need during its ongoing war with Russia? 

I'd like to believe that it's a mix of both!

Tailpiece.

Got up at a trifle past 6, the chores and was ready by 10.

The sun brightened up the daytime but slipped to a wet environment by evening.