The risk of a Chinese communist attack on Taiwan by force continues to escalate. In response, the top three U.S. departments of national security, defense and intelligence responded one after another recently to talk about possible ways the Biden administration could respond to the Chinese Communist Party’s violation of Taiwan. They also warned Beijing authorities not to unilaterally change the status quo in the Taiwan Strait.
On April 30, the Aspen Institute, a U.S. think tank, held a seminar on Biden’s 100th day in office. U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said at the meeting, “The United States opposes unilateral changes to the status quo (of the situation in the Taiwan Strait). We want to see a stable cross-strait relationship, and we have communicated with China (Communist Party) and given assurances to our allies.”
Sullivan said the U.S. will continue to fulfill its obligations under the Taiwan Relations Act to provide defensive support to Taiwan, and hopes that other countries in the Indo-Pacific region will pay greater attention to stability in the Taiwan Strait.
He said, “I think it’s important that we also elevate our concerns with other countries in the Indo-Pacific region so that not only the United States but other countries are speaking out about the need for stability in the Taiwan Strait.”
He also mentioned Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga’s recent visit to the White House for a summit with President Biden, where both sides made a unanimous statement on Taiwan’s security.
Sullivan argued that “the United States should stand up for Taiwan in many different areas, not to escalate or change the status quo in the Taiwan Strait, but in doing what two fellow democracies do, and that is work together to solve major problems.”
Kathleen Hicks, the new U.S. deputy secretary of defense, told the symposium that “there will be a war between the United States and China” that can be avoided. The U.S. must first ensure that it improves its capabilities, and second, demonstrate intimidation to prevent any aggression that would harm U.S. interests.
Hicks put the Chinese Communist challenge at the center of Pentagon policy, emphasizing that the Communist Party’s expansion in the military, space and cyber domains has “economic, military and technological capabilities that challenge the international system and affect U.S. interests.”
But she argued that there are good reasons for the U.S. and China to maintain communication, and that “intense competition” does not necessarily mean “conflict.
In response to continued Chinese provocations against Taiwan, the U.S. political establishment has called on the Biden administration to make clear to the Chinese Communist Party that the United States will not stand idly by if troops are deployed against Taiwan. Stephen Biegun, deputy secretary of state under the Trump administration, said the U.S. should focus its policy on systematically building a deterrent force against the Chinese Communist Party.
Biegun said, “We must make clear to the Chinese (Communist) government that the United States will take every action to defend Taiwan.” If the Chinese Communist Party does choose to take action against Taiwan, it will be a gamble.
However, U.S. intelligence director Avril Haines argued that the U.S. could anger the Communist Party if it changed its “strategic ambiguity” strategy.
On April 29, Haines told a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on the U.S. facing global threats that if the U.S. shifts from strategic ambiguity to clarity and is willing to intervene when something might happen to Taiwan, it could allow Beijing to aggressively undermine U.S. interests around the world.
The issue of Taiwan’s security is now in the world’s spotlight. The latest issue of The Economist reports that Taiwan is “the most dangerous place on earth” and that if the Chinese Communist Party launches a surprise attack on Taiwan and the U.S. military fails to help defend Taiwan, Beijing will not only become the dominant power in Asia, but the U.S. global leadership will also collapse.
As a global leader, the U.S. is both the dominant and defender of the international order, and if it fails to protect Taiwan and stop the Chinese Communist Party’s annexation, then the U.S. will naturally lose its leadership position,” current affairs commentator Yokohama told New Tang Dynasty.
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