Despite a good cross-strait relationship, Taiwan in the short run is anxious about the upcoming elections and in the long run is concerned about the respective rise and decline of China and the US’ influence on the country, said Brad Glosserman, the executive director of the Pacific Forum at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington-based think tank on foreign policy.
He added that all of Asia is beginning to worry that “the balance of power in the region is shifting in China’s favor.”
Glosserman said in his recent writings that while the possibility of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) coming to power again has some people worried, it does not mean that those who are worried favor the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT).
In the long term, China’s growth as well as developments in the cross-strait relationship have deepened Taiwan’s fear of being absorbed by China, Glosserman said.
He added that although the cross-strait Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA) has bolstered Taiwan’s economy and made Taiwan a portal through which the world could enter China, “continual integration [of cross-strait relations] could turn that bridge into a trap, giving Beijing too much leverage and influence over Taiwan.”
Analysts in Beijing have already said that if the DPP is elected into office next year there is a possibility that Beijing could put the screws on the benefits it affords Taiwan, Glosserman said.
“Rising Chinese influence is the counterpoint to a perception of shrinking US power and influence,” Glosserman said, adding that Taiwan is worried that such a decline might prompt Washington to trade Taiwan for better Sino-US relations.
These worries have been heard in other parts of the world too, he added.
Since the start of the financial meltdown, the worry that Taiwan would be cast aside by the US also permeates Asia. Officials are concerned that financial factors would cause the US to decrease its military presence in Asia and subsequently tone down its promise of protection to its allies in the region, Glosserman said.
However, Glosserman does not agree that the US is on the decline, adding that as China grows stronger, so will the US, and the US would never decrease its military presence in the Asia-Pacific region.
The US’ allies should more actively convey to Washington their desire for a continued US presence in Asia and further strengthen their ties with the US, Glosserman said.
He added that everyone in the region should further strengthen the acknowledgement that they all share the burden of regional peace and security.
In order to correct the myth of a shift in Sino-US power in Asia, there should be practical evaluations of the two nations’ power, listing their assets and capabilities, Glosserman said.
Such a process would be able to turn the tide on the perception that the US is on the decline that has taken root both in the US and in Taiwan, Glosserman said.
Translated by Jake Chung, Staff Writer
RESPONSE: The transit sends a message that China’s alignment with other countries would not deter the West from defending freedom of navigation, an academic said Canadian frigate the Ville de Quebec and Australian guided-missile destroyer the Brisbane transited the Taiwan Strait yesterday morning, the first time the two nations have conducted a joint freedom of navigation operation. The Canadian and Australian militaries did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The Ministry of National Defense declined to confirm the passage, saying only that Taiwan’s armed forces had deployed surveillance and reconnaissance assets, along with warships and combat aircraft, to safeguard security across the Strait. The two vessels were observed transiting northward along the eastern side of the Taiwan Strait’s median line, with Japan being their most likely destination,
‘NOT ALONE’: A Taiwan Strait war would disrupt global trade routes, and could spark a worldwide crisis, so a powerful US presence is needed as a deterrence, a US senator said US Senator Deb Fischer on Thursday urged her colleagues in the US Congress to deepen Washington’s cooperation with Taiwan and other Indo-Pacific partners to contain the global security threat from China. Fischer and other lawmakers recently returned from an official trip to the Indo-Pacific region, where they toured US military bases in Hawaii and Guam, and visited leaders, including President William Lai (賴清德). The trip underscored the reality that the world is undergoing turmoil, and maintaining a free and open Indo-Pacific region is crucial to the security interests of the US and its partners, she said. Her visit to Taiwan demonstrated ways the
GLOBAL ISSUE: If China annexes Taiwan, ‘it will not stop its expansion there, as it only becomes stronger and has more force to expand further,’ the president said China’s military and diplomatic expansion is not a sole issue for Taiwan, but one that risks world peace, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday, adding that Taiwan would stand with the alliance of democratic countries to preserve peace through deterrence. Lai made the remark in an exclusive interview with the Chinese-language Liberty Times (sister paper of the Taipei Times). “China is strategically pushing forward to change the international order,” Lai said, adding that China established the Asia Infrastructure Investment Bank, launched the Belt and Road Initiative, and pushed for yuan internationalization, because it wants to replace the democratic rules-based international
RELEASED: Ko emerged from a courthouse before about 700 supporters, describing his year in custody as a period of ‘suffering’ and vowed to ‘not surrender’ Former Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) chairman Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) was released on NT$70 million (US$2.29 million) bail yesterday, bringing an end to his year-long incommunicado detention as he awaits trial on corruption charges. Under the conditions set by the Taipei District Court on Friday, Ko must remain at a registered address, wear a GPS-enabled ankle monitor and is prohibited from leaving the country. He is also barred from contacting codefendants or witnesses. After Ko’s wife, Peggy Chen (陳佩琪), posted bail, Ko was transported from the Taipei Detention Center to the Taipei District Court at 12:20pm, where he was fitted with the tracking
RSS