Tensions have significantly risen in the past few days with the arrival of United States Speaker Nancy Pelosi to Taiwan on Tuesday 2 August, with China calling the visit “extremely dangerous.” The trip is the highest-ranking by an American politician to the island in 25 years, and comes amidst already heightened tensions between China and Taiwan. China views Taiwan as a breakaway province that will eventually be under Beijing’s control again.  Chinese President Xi Jinping has previously said that “reunification” with Taiwan “must be fulfilled,” and he has not ruled out the possible use of force to achieve this goal. Taiwan meanwhile views itself as an independent country, with its own constitution and democratically elected leaders. Tensions between China and Taiwan have however been on the rise in the past year. In 2021, China appeared to increase its pressure on Taiwan by sending military aircraft into Taiwan’s Air Defence Zone, a self-declared area where foreign aircraft are identified, monitored and controlled in the interests of national security. In 2020, Taiwan made data on plane incursions public, with the number of aircraft reported peaking in October 2021, with 56 incursions in a single day. China’s announcement of military drills being held in the coming days marks a significant escalation.   

Iran’s state maritime body reported on 28 May that the crew of two Greek tankers seized by its Revolutionary Guards on 27 May had not been detained, adding that they were in good health and were being cared for on board their vessels. This comes after Iranian forces seized two Greek tankers in the Gulf of Friday 27 May. The move came shortly after Tehran warned that it would take “punitive action” against Athens over the confiscation of Iranian oil by the United States from a tanker held off the Greek coast.

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