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
-
Two Ways for the United States to Deepen Diplomatic Engagement with ASEAN
Commentary
The time has come to demonstrate again that the United States seeks to engage partners in Southeast Asia at the highest levels of government. As the region’s economic and secu...
By Chris Estep
-
Contested Spaces
Reports
As the competition between the United States and China to shape the course of the 21st century intensifies, Southeast Asia has become a contested space....
By Patrick M. Cronin, Abigail Grace, Daniel Kliman & Kristine Lee
-
How China and the U.S. Are Competing for Young Minds in Southeast Asia
Commentary
Business leaders at the World Economic Forum in Davos last month warned that China has overtaken the United States in the development of artificial intelligence and other emer...
By Kristine Lee
-
Time to Make Good on the U.S.-Philippine Alliance
Commentary
A storm is brewing in America’s oldest security alliance in the Indo-Pacific and the administration needs to act quickly to head it off. On December 20, Philippine Secretary o...
By Gregory Poling & Eric Sayers
