Don't Be a Sacrifice Offering in US-China Confrontation

Don't Be a Sacrifice Offering in US-China Confrontation

China Times Editorial (Taipei, Taiwan)

July 2, 2020

 Translation of an Excerpt

The confrontation between US and Mainland China military aircraft around Taiwan has become a "new normal", and military risks across the Taiwan Strait have risen. Former US National Security Adviser John Bolton's new book, "The Room Where it Happened: A White House Memoir", shows that Taiwan is at risk of political uncertainty. The DPP government's line of "pro-US, countering China, safeguard Taiwan" seems to put Taiwan at the center of a geopolitical vortex, subject to the traction of the tides and currents and losing its self-controlling capacity. If the DPP does not realize the reality and plays a constructive role in the US-China-Taiwan trilateral relationship, Taiwan will eventually become a sacrificial lamb for power competition.

Traditional wisdom and reason tell us that military conflict in the Taiwan Strait is unthinkable, but in reality the possibility not only exists, the possibility continues to worsen. The three aircraft carrier battle groups, the US Roosevelt, Reagan and Nimitz, have assembled in the Western Pacific for the first time in three years. Besides declaring US national strength, it intends to deter the PRC’s expansion. The PRC, on the other hand, has also dispatched more military aircraft and warships in response. The encounter between the two sides is no longer an accident, but a targeted and purposeful action; a perfect storm is forming. Will the Taiwan question lead the US-China cold war to a white hot conflict? This has been the focus of serious discussions and debates among US scholars and experts.

In the US-China confrontation, Taiwan in reality can play a buffer role. The Sino-US confrontation will not necessarily be carried out in the form of war, but the escalation of risks for military conflicts will inevitably be unavoidable. Taiwan’s clever way of protecting itself is to maintain the maximum balance among the two big powers.

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