A Washington think tank is urging US President Barack Obama to encourage a stronger Taiwanese presence in the South China Sea.
At the same time, the Project 2049 Institute wants the White House to increase security assistance to Taiwan.
This comes in a new study from the think tank, published as US Secretary of State John Kerry prepares to meet senior Chinese leaders in Beijing this weekend to discuss China’s growing maritime claims.
“The US should work more closely with Taiwan,” the study by institute researcher Kelsey Broderick said in the study.
Taipei has proposed President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) East China Sea peace initiative, which calls for setting aside territorial disputes in favor of joint development of resources.
“Principles behind this proposal could easily be applied to the South China Sea and should be promoted by both Taiwan and the US,” the study said.
“Putting aside sovereignty issues in favor of shared development would help build ties between all the claimant countries in a way that might help with peaceful resolution of claims in the future,” it said.
The US strategy of pivoting to Asia should be tailored more toward bolstering this type of coordination with Taiwan, the study added.
“One way is for Obama to end the freeze on meaningful arms sales to Taiwan and provide Taiwan with submarine assistance in order to help Taiwan upgrade its navy, its most important deterrent in these types of maritime disputes,” the study said.
Other collaboration with Taiwan could include joint humanitarian assistance and disaster relief exercises, “area[s] that could play an important role in any South China Sea flare-ups,” it said.
This kind of US cooperation with Taiwan would clearly to signal China that aggressive actions have consequences, it added.
“Currently, China is acting as though the US rebalance is nothing more than a policy of rhetoric,” the study said. “Beijing may even be willing to militarily reinforce its claims in the South China Sea if it believes that the US rebalance is nothing more than empty discourse.”
However, by quickly and firmly instituting the rebalance before China further develops its naval capabilities, the US can establish itself as a dominant presence in Asia, it added.
“Forcing China to resolve its South China Sea disputes now, when its military capabilities in the region remain relatively weak, will make it more likely that the disputes will be solved peacefully,” Broderick wrote.
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