Wednesday, May 5, 2010
US, China, and Taiwan
A lot of us have probably heard that China may surpass the United States in becoming the next superpower of the world due to its rapid economic growth etc. My question is whether these two countries will ever clash in some way? Some suspect that if they do, it would be about Taiwan. The United States has always maintained a very ambiguous policy towards Taiwan: it does not officially recognize Taiwan but sells arms to it to guard itself against enemies, which would obviously be China. The United States had a weapons deal worth 6.4 billion dollars with Taiwan earlier this year, which infuriated China. With its "One China" policy, China considers Taiwan as a part of China and will supposedly resort to military measures if Taiwan formally declares independence. At the same time, the United States seems to support Taiwan in that it will help Taiwan if China invades the country in the future. So, the United States doesn't seem to want China to take over Taiwan, but at the same time, it officially supports China's policy. So, what happens if Taiwan does declare independence? Will the United States come to Taiwan's defense? Will it be willing to engage in a war with China?
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Fortunately, it is in the best interest of all parties involved to maintain the status quo. If war for some reason ever does break out between the US and China, it will probably have something to do with Taiwan. However, Taiwan will not betray the US' support by declaring independence from the mainland. As for China, the only thing that really matters is the symbolism--after their "Century of Humiliation," the main goal of the Communist Party has been to achieve and maintain the idea of one united nation free of foreign influence. So as long as the US maintains that there is one China and that Taiwan is a part of China, the mainland will not risk its relationship with the US by trying to impose itself across the Strait.
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