“Taiwan is not a problem. It’s a friend,” the Washington Post said on Thursday on its op-ed page.
American Enterprise Institute security studies expert Gary Schmitt wrote the article, which said that the US should improve military, economic and diplomatic ties with Taiwan.
“Given Taiwan’s democracy, it is also the right thing to do,” Schmitt wrote.
“I have already heard that some members of Congress support it,” a Washington-based Taiwan-watcher said.
“I don’t expect it will have any immediate impact, but it has put Taiwan on a lot of radar screens,” he said about the article.
The article said that Washington’s “one China” policy is a relic of a bygone era, adding that “it seems we can bring Cuba in from the cold, but not Taiwan.”
Schmitt srote that US policymakers see Taiwan as a problem, but that it should be seen as a contributor to the US strategic position in Asia.
He said that Taiwan is a model of democratic governance, an important trading partner and home to some of the world’s most innovative companies.
Taiwan is sitting astride vital sea-trade lanes and that an intelligent defense plan would help build a key link in East Asia’s first island chain, Schmitt wrote.
Such a plan, he said, would lessen the ability of Chinese air and naval forces to move into the broader Pacific and threaten US forces at sea and on Guam.
“US policy toward Taiwan remains stuck in neutral because of a reluctance to put aside the fiction of ‘one China,’” Schmitt wrote.
“During her campaign and time as president-elect, Tsai [Ing-wen (蔡英文)] has made it clear that she has no intention of roiling the waters with the People’s Republic of China by pushing forward with an explicit claim of independence,” he wrote. “But there is little doubt that a US policy to further normalize relations with Taiwan would increase tensions with Beijing.”
Schmitt said it is an “illusion” to think there is a way forward that does not involve tension with China.
“The only question is whether we use all of our assets or fail to, as the Chinese employ all of theirs,” Schmitt wrote.
“Answering this question is all the more urgent in light of the more assertive and ambitious policies of China’s current leader, [President] Xi Jinping [習近平],” he added.
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