For the past century, East Asia has been under constant regime changes. From the mighty Yuan Empire to the ruthless Japanese Empire, to the current Chinese Communist Party, the region known as China has seen frequent and controversial border changes. The most recent is the disputed territory of Taiwan.
Controversial Origins
The Republic of China, more commonly known as the Republic of Taiwan, is an independent island nation located between the PRC and Japan. As one of the most economically prosperous nations in Asia, Taiwan has been seen as a controversial opponent to the Communist rule over China.
Taiwan was first established by the Kuomintang in 1949 following the victory of the Chinese Communist Party. The KMT were the primary opposition to the Communists and after losing the Civil War they were forced to flee to Taiwan, where they have remained ever since.
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Over the past 75 years, the international community has been divided on which country to recognize. Originally Taiwan was recognized as the only true ruler of China and barred the communists from joining the UN or most other international organizations.
This world view has then been demolished after the PRC was officially accepted into organizations like the World Bank and their economic prowess could no longer be ignored. Today approximately a dozen nations recognize an independent Taiwan thus complicating the issue even more.
A One-China Policy
Despite the huge ideological differences between Communist China and the ROC, both believe in eventual reunification under a single banner.
Communist China is pursuing this under its controversial “One-China Policy”. This policy states that as a prerequisite to maintaining stable relations with the PRC then you can not have official relations with Taiwan.
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Now The PRC has also used economic incentives as a motivating push to get more and more countries to cease formal recognition of Taiwan. As the Chinese market is the second largest economic forum in the world, this is a tempting offer to underdeveloped and developing nations.
This often means excluding Taiwan from international assemblies such as the United Nations and other diplomatic conferences. This stance has solidified the PRC’s status as the dominant Chinese power.
Significance of Taiwan
Although the One-China Policy has been largely effective in pursuing the PRC’s goal of regional hegemony it has also started a geopolitical standoff with the United States.
As the sole global superpower after the Cold War, The United States has been pursuing any and all means and solidifying its power. One of its primary battles has been in protecting the sovereignty of Taiwan.
Despite not formally recognizing Taiwan as an independent country, the United States has been sending aid and protecting Taiwan’s sovereignty for over three decades. The United States does this for two reasons.
The first is to uphold its democratic values. The United States has been seen as the standard bearer of democracy since World War II and in its pursuit to maintain its hegemony it seeks to impose those same ideals across the world. Chinese conquest of Taiwan does the exact opposite and instead expands the influence of the United States’ main competitors.
The Second is maintaining stable trade relations. Taiwan has a monopoly over microprocessors, which huge American companies such as Apple, Microsoft, and Dell all rely on. If these microprocessors were to fall into Chinese hands then the United States would fall into an even larger dependence on Chinese goods. This would undermine the United States’ sovereignty and significantly affect their policy going into the future.
A New Cold War
As the tension between the PRC and the United States escalates, academics and economists alike predict a new Cold War will likely emerge. Unless something major changes this conflict shall affect the entire world for better or worse.
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In a larger context, the Taiwanese Crisis could be seen as one of the many struggles between the Capitalist West and the Authoritarian East. As the crisis continues to evolve it could be one of the first major diplomatic meltdowns of this new Cold War. How these complex dynamics play out will most definitely shape the future of International Relations and U.S. foreign policy as a whole.
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