Disputes between the US and China would not grow out of control in the near future, and Taiwan’s leadership should pursue institutionalization of US-Taiwan relations and ameliorate cross-strait relations, academics said yesterday.
The Association of Strategic Foresight hosted academics at a seminar in Taipei to discuss current and future relations among Washington, Taipei and Beijing.
Addressing concerns over China’s rising influence, the US would continue to implement its Indo-
Pacific strategy and policies that are friendly to Taiwan, which would not change no matter who wins in the Jan. 11 presidential election, National Chengchi University associate professor of diplomacy Lu Yeh-chung (盧業中) said.
The US’ Taiwan Travel Act, National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2020 and increased military sales to Taiwan are symbolic indicators of its continued friendliness toward Taiwan, but it remains to be seen whether their practical effects would be greater, he said.
The primary goal after the elections is to institutionalize Taiwan-US interaction and ensure that it would not change with the rotation of political parties in power, Lu said.
On US-China relations, Washington currently views Beijing as a strategic competitor and a revisionist power rather than a friend or an enemy, Tamkang University associate professor of international affairs and strategic studies Li Da-jung (李大中) said.
The US and China have not completely decoupled, and they are several steps away from outright competition for global hegemony, he said.
The worst Taiwan could do right now is to go into full alert mode, he added.
“That’s like running in front of the US and then asking why it isn’t ready,” he said.
The anti-China sentiment in Taiwan now is greater than even during the Qiandao Lake incident in 1994 and the Sunflower movement in 2014, National Taiwan University political science professor Chang Teng-chi (張登及) said.
In the Qiandao Lake incident, 24 Taiwanese tourists and eight Chinese were kidnapped and murdered by three men in Zhejiang Province, China.
During the Sunflower movement, protesters occupied the Legislative Yuan’s main chamber in March and April 2014 to protest the government’s handling of the Cross-Strait Service Trade Agreement.
If the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) succeeds in winning a second term, it must consider how to handle the US-Taiwan-China trilateral relations in a more refined manner, Chang said.
If the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) wins, it must make an effort to meet the expectations of the public, he added.
After reaching a “phase one” trade agreement, the US and China have temporarily ceased their trade conflict, he said.
This is a critical period and Taiwan should emulate Japan, India and other important Indo-Pacific nations by staying calm and avoiding risks, he said.
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One of two tropical depressions that formed offshore this morning could turn into a moderate typhoon by the weekend, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said today. Tropical Depression No. 21 formed at 8am about 1,850km off the southeast coast, CWA forecaster Lee Meng-hsuan (李孟軒) said. It is expected to move in a northwesterly direction as it continues building momentum, possibly intensifying into Typhoon Mitag this weekend, she added. The radius of the storm is expected to reach almost 200km, she said. It is expected to approach southeast of Taiwan on Monday and pass through the Bashi Channel between Tuesday and Wednesday,
Tigerair Taiwan and China Airlines (CAL) today announced that several international flights were canceled or rescheduled due to Typhoon Ragasa. The Central Weather Administration (CWA) has maintained sea and land warnings for the typhoon. Its storm circle reached the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春半島) on Taiwan's southern tip at 11am today. Tigerair Taiwan said it canceled Monday's IT551/IT552 Taoyuan-Da Nang, IT606/IT607 Taoyuan-Busan and IT602 Taoyuan-Seoul Incheon flights. Tomorrow, cancelations include IT603 Seoul Incheon-Taoyuan, as well as flights between Taoyuan and Sapporo, Osaka, Tokyo Narita, Okinawa, Fukuoka, Saga, Tokyo Haneda, Nagoya, Asahikawa and Jeju. On Wednesday, the IT321/IT322 Kaohsiung-Macau round-trip would also be canceled. CAL announced that today's
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