Upon taking office last May, President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) set two priorities in foreign policy: improve relations with China, Taiwan’s main threat, and repair the damage to Taiwan’s standing with the US, its primary foreign protector.
For the last 10 months, Ma has sought to ease tensions with China with small moves such as arranging for more passenger flights from Taipei to China and inviting more Chinese tourists to visit Taiwan. In recent days, Ma has turned to concentrate on rebuilding trust from the US, especially from US President Barack Obama and his administration.
Ma addressed an influential audience in Washington through a videoconference call last Wednesday in which he promised “surprise-free and low-key” dealings with the US and an effort to be a “responsible peacemaker” in the international arena. He said “pragmatism” would be the mark of his foreign policy.
In contrast, Ma’s predecessor, President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁), antagonized Chinese leaders with his relentless pursuit of independence for Taiwan. Chen antagonized US leaders, including former US president George W. Bush, who was basically pro-Taiwan, by failing to consult with Washington and by taking what Bush officials considered to be reckless positions toward China.
Even as Ma spoke, the Chinese reminded the people of Taiwan, and indeed the world, that they were continuing to acquire the military power to deter Taiwanese independence and possibly to conquer the island. The People’s Liberation Army marked the 60th anniversary of its navy with a review at sea that included warships from 14 other navies, including the US.
The US Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Gary Roughead led the US delegation to Beijing and the port of Qingdao. The admiral, a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, conferred with political and military leaders as he sought to have Sino-US military exchanges revived. China broke them off in October after the US announced it would sell US$6.5 billion in arms to Taiwan.
Those exchanges are intended to dissuade Chinese leaders from miscalculating US capabilities and intentions. The US seeks to discern the reasons behind China’s military buildup, including its plans to acquire a blue-water navy as opposed to its present largely coastal navy.
The government of Taiwan has organized its current efforts to influence the US around the 30th anniversary of the Taiwan Relations Act (TRA), which was enacted in Congress after former US president Jimmy Carter switched US diplomatic recognition from Taipei to Beijing. The TRA governs US unofficial dealings with Taiwan, including arms sales.
To reinforce the TRA, Taiwan’s representatives in the US have sponsored a dozen panel discussions across the country in which scholars, specialists and diplomats have discussed the TRA and relations between the US and Taiwan. Journalists have been invited to Taiwan to interview leaders and to witness political and economic developments.
Ma’s address last Wednesday to the Center for Strategic and International Studies, the prominent think tank in Washington, was a featured event in this effort. He emphasized Taiwan’s commitment to its own defense, which had been questioned by some in the US.
“I want to reassure America that Taiwan will not free-ride on the United States for its own security,” he said. “I urge the United States not to hesitate to provide Taiwan with the necessary defensive arms as stipulated in the Taiwan Relations Act.”
In addition, he said Taiwan would like to get a waiver on visas so that more Taiwanese tourists could visit the US, as well as negotiate a free trade agreement that would expand commerce.
Richard Halloran is a freelance writer based in Hawaii.
Concerns that the US might abandon Taiwan are often overstated. While US President Donald Trump’s handling of Ukraine raised unease in Taiwan, it is crucial to recognize that Taiwan is not Ukraine. Under Trump, the US views Ukraine largely as a European problem, whereas the Indo-Pacific region remains its primary geopolitical focus. Taipei holds immense strategic value for Washington and is unlikely to be treated as a bargaining chip in US-China relations. Trump’s vision of “making America great again” would be directly undermined by any move to abandon Taiwan. Despite the rhetoric of “America First,” the Trump administration understands the necessity of
US President Donald Trump’s challenge to domestic American economic-political priorities, and abroad to the global balance of power, are not a threat to the security of Taiwan. Trump’s success can go far to contain the real threat — the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) surge to hegemony — while offering expanded defensive opportunities for Taiwan. In a stunning affirmation of the CCP policy of “forceful reunification,” an obscene euphemism for the invasion of Taiwan and the destruction of its democracy, on March 13, 2024, the People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) used Chinese social media platforms to show the first-time linkage of three new
If you had a vision of the future where China did not dominate the global car industry, you can kiss those dreams goodbye. That is because US President Donald Trump’s promised 25 percent tariff on auto imports takes an ax to the only bits of the emerging electric vehicle (EV) supply chain that are not already dominated by Beijing. The biggest losers when the levies take effect this week would be Japan and South Korea. They account for one-third of the cars imported into the US, and as much as two-thirds of those imported from outside North America. (Mexico and Canada, while
I have heard people equate the government’s stance on resisting forced unification with China or the conditional reinstatement of the military court system with the rise of the Nazis before World War II. The comparison is absurd. There is no meaningful parallel between the government and Nazi Germany, nor does such a mindset exist within the general public in Taiwan. It is important to remember that the German public bore some responsibility for the horrors of the Holocaust. Post-World War II Germany’s transitional justice efforts were rooted in a national reckoning and introspection. Many Jews were sent to concentration camps not
RSS