December 15, 2017
China Mistakenly Challenges Andrew Jackson to a Duel
A Chinese diplomat’s insulting words invite a vigorous response from the U.S.
The United States Navy will be making a port call in Taiwan in the near future. The only questions that remain are where, when, and how many ships of what type will drop anchor or tie up at Taiwanese piers. Of course, this may cause a war to break out in Asia, but it won’t be one of the United States’ making.
We owe this troubling possibility to a China whose rising sense of anticipatory greatness is at odds with its capacity to execute a successful war. Hubris stimulated a Chinese official, Li Kexin, who is attached to its embassy in Washington, D.C., to threaten war against the United States. Li was responding to fairly normal language within the 2018 National Defense Authorization Act that allowed for mutual port visits between American and Taiwan naval vessels. In response, Li stated: “The day that a U.S. Navy vessel arrives in Kaohsiung [Taiwan’s main deep-water port] is the day that our People’s Liberation Army unifies Taiwan with military force.” This non-diplomatic démarche represents a break in precedent, as the United States Navy has made port calls in Taiwan, and it also directly challenges U.S. law in the form of the Taiwan Relations Act of 1979, which unequivocally states that the United States will “consider any effort to determine the future of Taiwan by other than peaceful means, including by boycotts or embargoes, a threat to the peace and security of the Western Pacific area and of grave concern to the United States."
Read the full op-ed in National Review.
More from CNAS
-
Back to the Future: Transforming the U.S. Army for High-Intensity Warfare in the 21st Century
Commentary
The Army’s transformation remains a work in progress and potential pitfalls still lurk on the horizon....
By Billy Fabian
-
Next Generation Defense Strategy: Missile Defense
Commentary
The next administration needs to more fully consider missile defense in the context of strategic deterrence....
By Sarah Mineiro
-
Making Critical Choices for Better Posture Approaches
Commentary
The U.S. Department of Defense must make critical choices in the next NDS to better link strategic objectives with posture in support of U.S. interests....
By Becca Wasser
-
Sharper: The Next Four Years
Commentary
America will face a range of national security challenges over the next four years. From sustaining military deterrence to bolstering the nation's economic leadership and more...
By Chris Estep & Cole Stevens
