President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) has taken a tough stance following the attack by a Philippine Coast Guard vessel on a Taiwanese fishing boat on Thursday last week, which resulted in the death of fisherman Hung Shih-cheng (洪石成). Ma demanded that the Philippine government make a public apology and pay compensation to the fisherman’s family. He threatened sanctions against the Philippines, and proceeded to impose them.
Ma’s response in this case has been appropriate, but a more crucial aspect to consider is that this incident should be taken as a signal to reflect on Taiwan’s diplomatic policies and actions with regard to its neighboring countries.
This is by no means the first time that Taiwan has been badly treated by one of its Asian neighbors. The Philippines alone has offended Taiwan many times. According to figures published in the media, there have been at least 30 occurrences over the past decade of Taiwanese fishing boats being attacked with malicious intent by Philippine government vessels.
Another example of offensive behavior happened in February 2011, when 14 Taiwanese accused of committing fraud in the Philippines were arrested and deported to China, not to Taiwan. The Philippine government went so far as to politicize the issue by saying that it had taken this action in accordance with its “one China” policy. This set a precedent for denying Taiwan’s sovereignty, and it has had further repercussions since then. However, public memories of the incident have faded over time, and Taiwan still lacks a clear orientation as to how it should respond to the Philippines’ habitually churlish behavior.
Everyone is aware of the difficulty Taiwan faces because of its diplomatic isolation. Even though this predicament cannot be blamed entirely on Ma and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, a more pressing question is whether Ma’s administrative team, in the face of this difficult situation, has ever thought about what kind of concrete diplomatic strategy it has in relation to Asia, which is after all the region in which Taiwan exists and that has the greatest influence upon it.
US historian Archibald Coolidge, an authority in the field of international relations, once said that the study of international relations must start from an understanding of neighboring countries. However, Taiwan often behaves as if it were a great power, looking down on the “little” countries around it in Asia. Even India is a small country in Taiwan’s eyes.
However, while Taiwan says that it wants to be friendly with the US and Japan, and maintain peaceful relations with China, it moans about how hard it is to be a small country stuck between these three big partners. Setting aside the question of whether such a policy outlook is contradictory, it no doubt highlights the scant attention that Taiwan pays to the other countries around it, while confining itself diplomatically to the space between the aforementioned three big powers.
The current dispute with the Philippines is no more than the tip of the iceberg. Behind it lie the limitations that arise from Taiwan’s adherence to such a narrow perspective in its foreign relations.
Taiwan should pay more attention to the countries around it and gain a better understanding of them, and it should employ a variety of means, such as culture, education and so on, to develop its relations with them. Only if it does so will Taiwan have any hope of increasing its room for maneuver on the world stage.
Chang Chi-shin is a post-doctoral research fellow in National Tsing Hua University’s Institute of Law for Science and Technology.
Translated by Julian Clegg
US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) were born under the sign of Gemini. Geminis are known for their intelligence, creativity, adaptability and flexibility. It is unlikely, then, that the trade conflict between the US and China would escalate into a catastrophic collision. It is more probable that both sides would seek a way to de-escalate, paving the way for a Trump-Xi summit that allows the global economy some breathing room. Practically speaking, China and the US have vulnerabilities, and a prolonged trade war would be damaging for both. In the US, the electoral system means that public opinion
In their recent op-ed “Trump Should Rein In Taiwan” in Foreign Policy magazine, Christopher Chivvis and Stephen Wertheim argued that the US should pressure President William Lai (賴清德) to “tone it down” to de-escalate tensions in the Taiwan Strait — as if Taiwan’s words are more of a threat to peace than Beijing’s actions. It is an old argument dressed up in new concern: that Washington must rein in Taipei to avoid war. However, this narrative gets it backward. Taiwan is not the problem; China is. Calls for a so-called “grand bargain” with Beijing — where the US pressures Taiwan into concessions
They did it again. For the whole world to see: an image of a Taiwan flag crushed by an industrial press, and the horrifying warning that “it’s closer than you think.” All with the seal of authenticity that only a reputable international media outlet can give. The Economist turned what looks like a pastiche of a poster for a grim horror movie into a truth everyone can digest, accept, and use to support exactly the opinion China wants you to have: It is over and done, Taiwan is doomed. Four years after inaccurately naming Taiwan the most dangerous place on
The term “assassin’s mace” originates from Chinese folklore, describing a concealed weapon used by a weaker hero to defeat a stronger adversary with an unexpected strike. In more general military parlance, the concept refers to an asymmetric capability that targets a critical vulnerability of an adversary. China has found its modern equivalent of the assassin’s mace with its high-altitude electromagnetic pulse (HEMP) weapons, which are nuclear warheads detonated at a high altitude, emitting intense electromagnetic radiation capable of disabling and destroying electronics. An assassin’s mace weapon possesses two essential characteristics: strategic surprise and the ability to neutralize a core dependency.
RSS