The outcome of the US presidential election shows that the governing and opposition parties in the US still have major differences. Yet, in dealing with issues regarding national security, the US Congress, regardless of party affiliation, is united against external threats. On Wednesday, the US House of Representatives overwhelmingly supported a resolution (411-3) condemning the EU's intention to lift its arms embargo on China.
The resolution stated that China has been stepping up its military buildup, including the deployment of hundreds of missiles targeting Taiwan, and that China's arms manufacturers transferred military technology to Iran. Therefore, the EU's intention to lift its arms embargo will jeopardize Taiwan's military as well as US forces in Asia.
The US State Department recently warned the EU not to lift the embargo lest this endanger international security. In addition, former CIA director James Woolsey recently said in testimony to the the House of Representatives that he considers China a major threat to the US. Faced with internal problems, an authoritarian regime such as China would seek to divert internal pressures by targeting an enemy. The easiest enemies for China are Taiwan and the US.
During his testimony, Woolsey pointed out that Beijing's latest defense white paper, China's National Defense in 2004, released in December, described in detail Beijing's hostility towards Washington, as well as how the People's Liberation Army is striving to modernize. Woolsey said that this is a serious problem caused by the Chinese regime, and that the Chinese leaders are nervous, as those without legitimacy are always nervous. Otherwise, how can anyone explain their relentless attacks against the Falun Gong?
Woolsey said that tens or even hundreds of millions of people in China are unemployed. Beijing's leaders are paying particular attention to the matter, because social unrest will threaten their ability to rule. When autocrats face social unrest, they often try to find a foreign enemy for the public to focus on. Naturally, the most convenient enemies are Taiwan, and the US which protects it.
China is already a leading nuclear power, and is rapidly modernizing its military. The US should be cautious about this. While handling the war in Iraq, it should not ignore the possibility of a showdown in the Taiwan Strait.
The US Congress, the State Department and the US intelligence community appear to be in general agreement about China. During the Clinton administration, the US adopted a policy of engagement and treated China as a strategic partner. After the spy plane incident of April 2001, the US started to perceive China as a strategic rival. Subsequently, there was a re-emergence of engagement because of Washington's need for Chinese support for its war on terror, its actions in Afghanistan and efforts to curb North Korea's nuclear-weapons program.
Now, however, there is a growing current of opinion demanding that Washington be wary of the potential threat posed by China. This is a practical and far-sighted strategy.
Although China and the US are separated by the vastness of the Pacific Ocean, many people see clearly the nature and direction of Sino-US relations. China and Taiwan are separated only by the Taiwan Strait. Beijing also has 706 missiles targeting Taiwan. Why are there are still so many people who are uncertain whether China sees Taiwan as a threat or a partner?
As strategic tensions escalate across the vast Indo-Pacific region, Taiwan has emerged as more than a potential flashpoint. It is the fulcrum upon which the credibility of the evolving American-led strategy of integrated deterrence now rests. How the US and regional powers like Japan respond to Taiwan’s defense, and how credible the deterrent against Chinese aggression proves to be, will profoundly shape the Indo-Pacific security architecture for years to come. A successful defense of Taiwan through strengthened deterrence in the Indo-Pacific would enhance the credibility of the US-led alliance system and underpin America’s global preeminence, while a failure of integrated deterrence would
The Executive Yuan recently revised a page of its Web site on ethnic groups in Taiwan, replacing the term “Han” (漢族) with “the rest of the population.” The page, which was updated on March 24, describes the composition of Taiwan’s registered households as indigenous (2.5 percent), foreign origin (1.2 percent) and the rest of the population (96.2 percent). The change was picked up by a social media user and amplified by local media, sparking heated discussion over the weekend. The pan-blue and pro-China camp called it a politically motivated desinicization attempt to obscure the Han Chinese ethnicity of most Taiwanese.
On Wednesday last week, the Rossiyskaya Gazeta published an article by Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) asserting the People’s Republic of China’s (PRC) territorial claim over Taiwan effective 1945, predicated upon instruments such as the 1943 Cairo Declaration and the 1945 Potsdam Proclamation. The article further contended that this de jure and de facto status was subsequently reaffirmed by UN General Assembly Resolution 2758 of 1971. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs promptly issued a statement categorically repudiating these assertions. In addition to the reasons put forward by the ministry, I believe that China’s assertions are open to questions in international
The Legislative Yuan passed an amendment on Friday last week to add four national holidays and make Workers’ Day a national holiday for all sectors — a move referred to as “four plus one.” The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP), who used their combined legislative majority to push the bill through its third reading, claim the holidays were chosen based on their inherent significance and social relevance. However, in passing the amendment, they have stuck to the traditional mindset of taking a holiday just for the sake of it, failing to make good use of
RSS