War does not look imminent, but the uneasy peace that has held for more than six decades is fragile. That much is clear from the crisis triggered this month by a visit to Taiwan by the speaker of America’s House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi. She was well within her rights, but her trip was provocative. It infuriated the Chinese Communist Party. The status quo surrounding the self-governing island, which China claims and whose thriving democracy America supports, is changing in dangerous ways. How can the war between America and China over Taiwan be prevented?

