Taiwan and the South China Sea have long been major issues in US foreign policy, and tensions involving China have kept both in the news in recent months. Beijing claims Taiwan as its own territory and asserts sovereignty over virtually the entire South China Sea, bringing it into confrontation with US allies and partners in the region.
What happens in Taiwan and the South China Sea could have an impact not only on the region but around the world, given their importance to global trade.
The South China Sea, a large body of water bordered by several nations, including China, the Philippines and Vietnam, is one of the world’s key maritime trade routes. Taiwan produces the majority of the world’s advanced semiconductors.
Photo: Google Map 照片：谷歌地圖
“The two are very much connected,” said Hunter S. Marston, director of the Southeast Asia Program at the Lowy Institute in Australia. “If China were to blockade or seek to forcibly retake Taiwan..., the South China Sea could quickly see spillover effects.”
TAIWAN, A KEY ISSUE IN US-CHINA RELATIONS
Taiwan is a self-ruled democracy that China claims as its own territory, and Beijing has not renounced the use of force to bring it under its control.
Photo: Reuters 照片：路透
China sends military aircraft, coast guard ships and other vessels around Taiwan on a near-daily basis and periodically conducts large-scale military exercises. Taiwan also regularly holds military drills, including its annual Han Kuang exercises.
The US does not have formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan, but maintains extensive unofficial relations and is required under US law to provide Taiwan with the means to defend itself.
Under that framework, the US has long been Taiwan’s main informal backer and arms supplier, a relationship that has been a persistent source of tensions with Beijing.
Photo: Reuters 照片：路透
TENSIONS PERSIST IN THE SOUTH CHINA SEA
But China asserts sovereignty over much of the South China Sea, despite a 2016 international arbitration ruling that invalidated Beijing’s expansive maritime claims.
In July, on the 10th anniversary of the ruling, the US, the UK and 12 other countries reiterated that China’s expansive claims have no legal basis. Beijing responded by insisting it would neither accept nor recognize the arbitration decision.
Confrontations in the disputed waters have become more frequent in recent years, particularly involving Chinese, Philippine and Vietnamese forces and fishing fleets.
Chinese coast guard ships and other vessels have used powerful water cannons, military-grade lasers and dangerous blocking maneuvers against Philippine forces and fishermen from other claimant countries. Such confrontations have led to collisions at sea and high-risk encounters in the air.
China has also carried out military drills this month near Scarborough Shoal, a disputed area claimed by both China and the Philippines.
In April, the US and the Philippines kicked off the annual Balikatan military exercises. The drills included mock battle scenarios and live-fire exercises in Philippine provinces facing the disputed South China Sea and the Taiwan Strait.
The Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) has said that because the South China Sea is one of the world’s most important maritime commercial corridors, “a conflict could cause major disruptions to the flow of trade.” The sea is connected to surrounding waters through several strategic chokepoints, including the Malacca Strait, which links it to the Indian Ocean and the Taiwan Strait, which connects it to the East China Sea.
What would be the main US interests in the region? For Marston, “the primary objective is preventing China from gaining regional hegemony and dominating the Pacific.”
“The security of Taiwan and its allies such as the Philippines, as well as defense of the first island chain, are integral to this overarching goal,” he said.
(AP)
台灣與南海長久以來都是美國外交政策中的重大議題，近數個月來，美中之間的緊張局勢更讓台灣與南海不斷成為新聞焦點。北京宣稱台灣是中國領土的一部分，並對幾乎整個南海主張擁有主權，因而與美國在該區的盟友及夥伴陷入對立。
由於台灣與南海對全球貿易的重要性，此處發生的任何事，不僅可能影響區域局勢，也可能會對全世界造成衝擊。
南海是一片由中國、菲律賓、越南等多國環繞的大型海域，也是全球重要的海上貿易航線之一。台灣則生產全球多數的先進半導體。
澳洲「洛伊國際政策研究所」東南亞計畫主任杭特．S．馬斯頓表示：「台灣與南海有非常密切的關聯。如果中國封鎖台灣，或試圖以武力奪取台灣，南海很快就可能受到外溢效應的影響」。
台灣：美中關係的關鍵議題
台灣是一個自治的民主政體，中國宣稱台灣是其領土的一部分，而北京從未放棄武力犯台的可能性。
中國幾乎每天都派軍機、海警船及其他船隻在台灣周邊活動，並不時舉行大規模軍事演習。台灣也定期舉行軍事演訓，包括每年的漢光演習。
美國與台灣並無正式外交關係，但維持廣泛的非官方關係，而且根據美國法律，美國必須提供台灣自我防衛所需的設備。
在此架構下，美國長期以來一直是台灣主要的非官方支持者與武器供應國，而這樣的關係也一直是美中緊張局勢的緣由之一。
南海緊張局勢持續
另一方面，中國主張對南海大部分海域擁有主權，儘管2016年的國際仲裁案已否定北京對南海範圍廣闊的聲索。
今年7月，在南海仲裁案10週年之際，美國、英國及其他12個國家再次重申，中國對南海廣大範圍的主權主張沒有法律依據。北京則回應稱，既不接受也不承認此仲裁案的裁決。
近年來，南海爭議海域的對峙日益頻繁，尤其是中國、菲律賓與越南的軍警部隊及漁船。
中國海警船及其他船隻曾使用強力水砲、軍用級雷射，以及危險的阻擋與逼近動作，對付菲律賓部隊及其他主權聲索國的漁民。這類對峙已導致海上碰撞，以及空中的高風險接觸。
本月，中國也在黃岩島附近舉行軍事演習。黃岩島是中國與菲律賓均聲稱擁有主權的爭議地區。
今年4月，美國與菲律賓啟動年度「肩並肩」（Balikatan）聯合軍事演習。演習內容包括模擬戰鬥情境及實彈演習，地點位於面向南海爭議海域與台灣海峽的菲律賓省分。
美國智庫「戰略暨國際研究中心」指出，由於南海是全球最重要的海上商業通道之一，「一旦發生衝突，可能會對貿易流動造成嚴重干擾」。南海透過數個重要的戰略咽喉點與周邊海域相連，包括連接印度洋的麻六甲海峽，以及連接東海的台灣海峽。
美國在區域內的主要利益是什麼？對馬斯頓而言，美國在該區域的「首要目標，是阻止中國取得區域霸權、主導太平洋」。
他表示：「台灣及菲律賓等盟友的安全，以及第一島鏈的防衛，都是這總體目標不可或缺的一環」。
（台北時報林俐凱編譯）
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