China’s military drills around Taiwan in response to US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to the island are threatening to disrupt maritime and air transportation in the region. Shippers expect delays due to re-routing and higher shipping costs.
The Taiwan Strait separating the island of Taiwan and continental Asia is a key trade route for vessels carrying goods between China, Japan, South Korea, and the rest of the world. The Global maritime supply chains have already been rattled during the two years of the pandemic followed by a crisis that erupted due to hostilities in Ukraine.
According to VesselsValue, a London-based consulting firm, there were 256 container ships and other vessels in Taiwanese territorial waters as of August 05, with a further 60 estimated to arrive between Thursday and Sunday.
Taiwan has also rerouted 18 international flights, 300 more flights would be impacted as a result of the rerouting.