Speaker Nancy Pelosi is scheduled to land in Taiwan today for a visit
that the entire U.S. national security leadership advised her not to
take. 

Three developments overnight:

— Asia stocks tanked: “Stocks across Asia dropped on Tuesday morning, as
investors prepared for a potential economic fallout” from Pelosi’s trip,
per the FT.

— Chinese planes buzz median line: “China is ratcheting up military
activity around Taiwan ahead of [Pelosi’s visit]. Several Chinese
fighter jets flew close to the median line that divides the Taiwan
Strait on Tuesday morning, according to a Taiwanese official briefed on
the developments, in a reminder to Taipei that Beijing’s air force could
reach the island in a matter of minutes. Military units across the
People’s Liberation Army’s Southern Theatre Command, which is in charge
of the South China Sea and some Taiwan-related missions, have entered a
status of high alert, according to military officials in two
neighbouring countries,” per the FT.

— U.S. Navy deploys four warships east of Taiwan: “‘While they are able
to respond to any eventuality, these are normal, routine deployments,’
[a U.S. Naval] official said, who spoke on the condition of anonymity,”
reports Reuters.

NYT’s Tom Friedman lays out an impassioned case against the trip: “Why
Pelosi’s Visit to Taiwan Is Utterly Reckless.” His big argument, backed
up with what seems like a significant scoop, is that Joe Biden has
successfully restrained China from aiding Russia in its war with
Ukraine, and Pelosi’s trip risks triggering confrontations with both
countries:

Subscribe to the POLITICO Playbook newsletter

Raghu Manavalan is the Host of POLITICO's Playbook.
Jenny Ament is the Executive Producer of POLITICO Audio.