Publication

In this commentary, the author analyzes and refutes an argument that Washington should abandon its support for Taiwan in exchange for a promise from Beijing to “peacefully resolve” its maritime territorial disputes and “officially accept the United States’ long-term military security role in East Asia”. In his counter argument, the author points out that 1) abandoning Taiwan would damage US credibility in the eyes of the other regional governments; 2) the assumption that the abandonment of Taiwan would “dramatically-improve” US-China relations has no real foundations; and 3) Taiwan, in fact, has a significant strategic value to the US.