Washington should support Taipei’s international participation and include Taiwan in combat-readiness operations to thwart China’s ambitions in the Indo-Pacific region, former US deputy undersecretary of the navy Seth Cropsey said.
Taiwan’s status “was not the root of Sino-American antagonism, but it was the clearest expression of it,” Cropsey, who is also the founder and president of US think tank Yorktown Institute, wrote in an opinion piece published on Monday on the Web site of US daily The Hill.
The tension over Taiwan between the US and China is a strategic antagonism, rather than a legal one, founded on “mutually conflicting long-term political, military and economic objectives,” he said.
Photo: AFP / US Navy / Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Z.A. Landers
The disputes between the US and China are broadly “based on the Chinese Communist Party’s Asian and Eurasian ambitions,” he said, adding that Taiwan’s role in the US defense system makes it the strategic center of the rivalry.
Taiwan “remains key to China’s self-image,” which also includes a more aggressive military posture, Cropsey said.
To keep Beijing from taking military action against Taiwan “requires deterring Chinese aggression throughout the Indo-Pacific” region, as Taipei is “a mere stepping-stone” to China’s ambition of regional dominance, he said.
Beijing taking control of Taiwan would jeopardize the defenses of Japan, the Philippines and Australia, he added.
China could control the eastern part of Eurasia’s most important trade route by taking the Malacca and Lombok straits, he said.
China is aware of the situation and has “thought well past the first contingencies,” he added.
Cropsey called on the US to prioritize the military aspects of deterrence by allocating more to the defense budget so that it “can sustain the forces needed to fight a large-scale Indo-Pacific air-naval war.”
More importantly, the US should “integrate the capabilities of regional allies, allowing them to operate jointly with US forces in combat,” which “must include Taiwan as well, considering Taipei’s geographic and military relevance,” he said.
Providing Taiwan with more diplomatic outlets through participation in international organizations and connections with other countries would also help the US’ efforts and should be encouraged, he said.
Legal disputes over Taiwan’s status are symptoms of underlying antagonisms between the US and China, he said.
Renewing discussions on the issue would have no real impact on the relationship between Washington and Beijing, he said.
The US providing China with public or private assurances against a declaration of Taiwanese independence would not meaningfully decrease the odds of confrontation, he said.
Taiwan is “an independent country under any definition,” a status “in no need of modification,” and which makes it “meaningless to say so in one manner or another,” he said.
“China has already lost Taiwan, insofar as Taiwan is not ruled by the mainland,” he said, adding that Taiwan only refrains from declaring independence to avoid provoking China.
“The time for language games has passed,” he said.
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