Despite Beijing’s protests, U.S. allies are showing increasing support for Taiwanese sovereignty in the form of an upcoming visit between French senators and Taiwanese officials, statements from Japan’s foreign minister and a British sail-through of the Taiwan Strait, Bloomberg reported Oct. 5. Why It Matters: China will hold its Standing Committee of the National People's Congress from Oct. 19-23, and Beijing is highly sensitive to political developments ahead of such legislative events. Though China is not likely to take military action against Taiwan in the near term, the growing coalition of U.S. allies supporting the island may drive Beijing to increase military coercion via overflights across Taiwan and economic coercion via pressure on Taiwanese industries. Background: China has flown a record number of 149 planes into Taiwanese airspace since Oct. 1 in what appears to be retaliation for Britain’s naval route and the upcoming French visit.