Regardless of the cause and intent, the Chinese military exercise, the USS George Washington moving into position in the Philippines, the multiple breaks on two separate instances of a Taiwanese undersea optical cable, the Taiwanese government issuing a “very urgent” telegram rejecting foreign aid, Ma’s neglect of his responsibility as the commander-in-chief and his refusal to declare a state of emergency, the Ma administration’s unthinkable continuous inaction during the height of the calamity and China’s “timely” declaration of its attitude are enough to provide the PLA with a reason to come to Taiwan in the name of humanitarianism. From the perspective of the US-Japan Security Alliance, it could also marginalize the alliance and upset the balance of power that has existed in East Asia for the past 60 years.
Looking back at the first week after Morakot, even if the Ma administration has not been colluding with the Chinese government, its arrogance and public detachment, combined with its eagerness to push cross-strait relations, could still send the wrong message to the US, Japan and China and place Taiwan at risk. The US military’s eagerness to show the flag in this situation is probably a practical matter of “preventive contact.” Whether or not this really is what is going on, we will only know when classified files have been declassified some time in future.
HoonTing is a freelance writer.
TRANSLATED BY PERRY SVENSSON
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