Pelosi angers China but Taiwan, not the US, may pay the higher price

(CNN)When US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi touched down in Taiwan on Tuesday night, China was ready with its response.

In quick succession, a slew of government and political bodies fired off statements condemning the visit and warning of its "severe impact" on US-China relations, while China's military said it would immediately launch "air and sea exercises" and released a plan for drills surrounding the island in coming days.

Pelosi's visit -- the first by a top-ranked US lawmaker in 25 years and part of a larger Asia tour -- was seen by Beijing as a "major political provocation" and a challenge to China's sovereignty. China's ruling Communist Party claims the self-governed democracy of Taiwan as its own, despite never having controlled it.

Despite Beijing's objections, Pelosi and a congressional delegation embarked on a series of high profile meetings at Taiwan's legislature and at the office of Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen, where the California Democrat said her delegation came to send an "unequivocal message" that "America stands with Taiwan."

"We want Taiwan to always have freedom with security and we're not backing away from that," Pelosi said, praising the courage of the Taiwanese people to uphold democracy.

Pelosi's defiance of China's warnings not to visit the island may have aggravated troubled US-China relations, but analysts say the party likely to end up feeling the brunt of Beijing's pressure is not the United States, but Taiwan.