By Harry Kazianis
On Saturday I have the honor of addressing members of the Formosa Foundation in Washington D.C. The topic of my talk — not for the light hearted on a Saturday morning at 9 AM — is titled, "Has the United States Lost Taiwan?"
Now, to be fair — I don't actually hold the view that the United States has lost Taiwan, at least not yet. However, the question is important for a number of reasons — mainly that Taiwan's armed forces have faced a steady, relative decline over the last decade compared to China's growing military might. If not addressed, Taiwan's very future could be placed in jeopardy. Combined with China's deployment of a robust A2/AD-centric military strategy that seeks to keep U.S. forces at bay, were a crisis to erupt in the Taiwan Strait, Taipei’s declining military assets is a problem that many have discounted in recent years. Now is the time address this important challenge.
To be fair, Taiwan-Chinese relations have warmed considerably. Bilateral trade totaled over US$168 billion last year, direct flights between the countries occur on a daily basis, and there is talk that the two might open up "representative offices."
While such news should be applauded, there is a darker aspect of bilateral ties that deserves equal attention. Beijing, for instance, has yet to renounce the use of force when it comes to reunification. In fact, it has hedged its bets — as both sides have built a robust economic relationship, Beijing's armed forces have undergone a rapid modernization across all domains (land, air, sea, cyber, space). China's has over 1,600 missiles of various capabilities—including the DF-21D "carrier-killer" anti-ship ballistic missile (ASBM)— just across the Taiwan Strait.
Read the full story at The Diplomat