Minister of National Defense Tang Yao-ming (
The media have also reported that China's navy plans to acquire Russian Slava-class cruisers, capable of carrying nuclear warheads, and Akula-class nuclear-powered submarines, which will increase Beijing's naval power dramatically. The expansion and the blatant trespassing into Taiwan's waters by Chinese military ships appear to be a warning.
In 1996, China's attempt to intimidate Taiwan with missile tests was thwarted by US intervention. Since then, China has worked hard to expand its military with a view to becoming a regional power. China has not only increased missile deployments along its southeast coast, but is also building naval fleets powerful enough to deter US intervention. China's military buildup worries Taiwan and makes Southeast Asian nations restless. For the same reason, Washington has redefined Sino-US relations from strategic partnership to strategic competition. China's military power has become a cause for concern in East Asia, even though China and ASEAN nations recently agreed to set aside territorial disputes in the South China Sea.
Beijing has been pushing a two-pronged strategy toward Taiwan, trumpeting direct links and launching a peace offensive while adopting a hard-line "if you don't want commercial shipping links then be prepared to see the arrival of warships" approach. Taiwan has faced this choice before, when Japan forced China to sign the Shimonoseki Treaty in 1894, ceding Taiwan and Penghu to Tokyo. The appearance of Chinese warships does not frighten the people of Taiwan, but instead stirs up anger and resentment. If the Chinese leadership and military believe that Taiwan will agree to open direct links at gunpoint, they are gravely misjudging the response of the people and showing serious ignorance of a democratic system. Far from falling on its knees, Taiwan will only speed up its purchase of Kidd-class destroyers, try to acquire submarines and AEGIS-equipped warships and deepen its military alliance with the US and Japan.
A show of force only highlights China's belligerent attitude. Beijing's military brass wants to flex their muscles on the eve of the Chinese Communist Party's 16th National Congress. However, such brutal behavior shows a lack of transparency in China's power maneuvers. One must resort to power struggles where the winner survives and the loser is destroyed. The people have no say whatsoever.
Taiwan has experienced a dominating military before. The country's political reforms have long been aimed at preventing the emergence of a military strongman and making the armed forces serve the country instead of any particular party. In the early years of his presidency, Lee Teng-hui (
The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has long been expansionist and contemptuous of international law. Under Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平), the CCP regime has become more despotic, coercive and punitive. As part of its strategy to annex Taiwan, Beijing has sought to erase the island democracy’s international identity by bribing countries to sever diplomatic ties with Taipei. One by one, China has peeled away Taiwan’s remaining diplomatic partners, leaving just 12 countries (mostly small developing states) and the Vatican recognizing Taiwan as a sovereign nation. Taiwan’s formal international space has shrunk dramatically. Yet even as Beijing has scored diplomatic successes, its overreach
In her article in Foreign Affairs, “A Perfect Storm for Taiwan in 2026?,” Yun Sun (孫韻), director of the China program at the Stimson Center in Washington, said that the US has grown indifferent to Taiwan, contending that, since it has long been the fear of US intervention — and the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) inability to prevail against US forces — that has deterred China from using force against Taiwan, this perceived indifference from the US could lead China to conclude that a window of opportunity for a Taiwan invasion has opened this year. Most notably, she observes that
For Taiwan, the ongoing US and Israeli strikes on Iranian targets are a warning signal: When a major power stretches the boundaries of self-defense, smaller states feel the tremors first. Taiwan’s security rests on two pillars: US deterrence and the credibility of international law. The first deters coercion from China. The second legitimizes Taiwan’s place in the international community. One is material. The other is moral. Both are indispensable. Under the UN Charter, force is lawful only in response to an armed attack or with UN Security Council authorization. Even pre-emptive self-defense — long debated — requires a demonstrably imminent
Since being re-elected, US President Donald Trump has consistently taken concrete action to counter China and to safeguard the interests of the US and other democratic nations. The attacks on Iran, the earlier capture of deposed of Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro and efforts to remove Chinese influence from the Panama Canal all demonstrate that, as tensions with Beijing intensify, Washington has adopted a hardline stance aimed at weakening its power. Iran and Venezuela are important allies and major oil suppliers of China, and the US has effectively decapitated both. The US has continuously strengthened its military presence in the Philippines. Japanese Prime
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