January 16, 2016
Taiwan’s Great Recalibration
The winds of change that swept Taiwan on Saturday, Jan. 16, propelling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) candidate Dr. Tsai Ing-wen to a landslide victory — with nearly double the number of votes garnered by her ruling-party opponent, Eric Chu — marks a turning point in both domestic Taiwan politics and also great-power politics. Taiwan’s internal affairs are re-emerging as the small island’s main wellspring of change, rather than pressure from the two behemoths most linked to Taiwan’s destiny: China and the United States.
After several years of relative quiescence, the Taiwan question will be back on the high agenda. Popular sentiment emanating from Taiwan, a self-governing island of about 23 million, is likely to challenge mainland China’s expectation of advancing a more integrated “one China” policy. At the same time, U.S. ambiguity regarding the degree to which it would back a democratic Taiwan in crisis may well be tested anew.
Read the full op-ed in Foreign Policy.
More from CNAS
-
Asia Needs Pence’s Reassurance
Commentary
In Asia, anxieties about the United States’ role in an increasingly China-centered world are palpable. While some fear that the United States is retreating from its internatio...
By Patrick M. Cronin
-
This Is How America and the Philippines Can Upgrade Their Alliance
Commentary
At the heart of the Indo-Pacific region are the disparate nations of Southeast Asia, a dynamic group of post–colonial nations that consciously guard their hard-earned autonomy...
By Patrick M. Cronin & Richard Javad Heydarian
-
Taming Sea Dragons
Reports
Executive Summary In his 2010 book, titled Monsoon: The Indian Ocean and the Future of American Power, Robert Kaplan asserted that the Indian Ocean “is at the heart of the wor...
By Sean Liedman
-
What the World Can Learn from Taiwan's China Experience
Commentary
As China’s economic gravity becomes inescapable and its military reach extends into the Western Pacific and the Indian Ocean, nations large and small are trying to benefit fro...
By Daniel Kliman & Harry Krejsa
