China-Taiwan conflict

Over the past few decades, the world has seen the military balance shift in China’s favor. Yet, Taiwan is not without its opportunities.

Taiwan’s history of resistance against colonizers – whether European, Japanese, or Chinese – and multi-ethnic nation-building deserves recognition. 

A PLA command structure in disarray and a hawkish Trump Cabinet could lead to disastrous miscalculation over Taiwan.

What does Beijing hope to achieve?

While the situations are not identical, the tactical and geopolitical parallels make the Falklands War worth studying in the Taiwan context.

Once again the former Australian prime minister has made headlines, this time by making the ahistorical claim that Taiwan is “sitting on Chinese real estate.”

Is China's military the juggernaut some imagine, or a paper tiger like Russia's degraded armed forces? Either way, getting a definitive answer would be terrible for almost everyone.

Taiwan’s election season will likely stabilize the cross-strait situation, but all bets are off when the new administration comes into office.

As tensions around Taiwan increase, remote Okinawan islands look to prepare for a possible conflict by investing in evacuation shelters and other defensive infrastructure.

ASEAN would not be insulated from any damaging consequences arising from a Taiwan Strait conflict, particularly when it comes to their citizens working in Taiwan. 

A cross-strait conflict would involve tremendous human suffering – and major difficulties in providing humanitarian aid.

While providing Taiwan with nuclear weapons may not be practical, including Taiwan under the U.S. nuclear umbrella is a feasible alternative.

Joseph Wu said Taiwan, with a population of 23 million compared to China's 1.4 billion, has to defend itself and is not asking other countries to fight for it.

What do the Taiwanese people themselves think?

The United States bars most sales of weapons-related technology to China anyway, so it’s unclear what effect the sanctions will have.

Tsai's visit to the base in the central county of Chiayi comes as Taiwan is seeking to boost its defenses against the rising threat from China.

A Taiwan conflict in which the United States and its allies win the battles but lose the war would not be a historical first.

Half of the global container fleet passed through the Taiwan Strait this year, making it a critical waterway for global supply chains.

If “China can unify Taiwan while eliminating U.S. interference. This is the best scenario for China... The surrounding countries cannot help Taiwan.”

The strategic lessons to be learned in a potential Ukraine conflict are limited – and potentially misleading when applied to Taiwan.

It makes tactical, operational, and strategic sense for China to start using UAVs in its incursions into Taiwan's ADIZ. Taiwan needs to decide now how it would respond.

Taiwan is a natural fit for the CPTPP in economic terms, but its bid will likely face intense opposition from China.

For Taipei, Beijing, and Washington, the standoff is about national identities as much as territory.

John Cena's apology is a good opportunity to look back at the historical reality of Taiwan's status and identity over the last 200 years.