[S I M T A N]

The title should read as China would be unwise to attack plane.

The sentence “China wise to not attack plane” is used to describe the Chinese PLA having made a prudent decision not to down Pelosi’s plane. It’s easy for us to say it would be unwise to shoot down the plane, but we have the benefit of hindsight.
 
In hindsight, we clearly see that killing the 82-year-old Nacy Pelosi would only make a martyr out of her, and might also risk military confrontation with the US. While many casual observers had mocked the Chinese for having wimped out, the country top brass had the foresight to not rise to the bait by reacting imprudently.
 
In any case, it was a purely symbolic trip without doing violence to the US’ one-China policy. Last week the White House stressed that Washington does not have official diplomatic ties with the island and does not support Taiwan independence though it is obligated, under America’s Taiwan Relations Act, “to provide the island with the means to defend itself.” Unless the status quo was changed, any rash actions could have disastrous consequences.