Note4Students

From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :

Prelims level: Not much

Mains level: Paper 2- Taiwan issue and implications for the Indo-Pacific region

If the rising confrontation between the United States and China erupts into a clash of arms, the likely arena may well be the Taiwan Strait.

The Guomindang (KMT) forces under Chiang Kai-shek lost the 1945-49 civil war to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in 1949. forces under Mao Zedong.
Chiang retreated to the island of Taiwan and set up a regime that claimed authority over the whole of China and pledged to recover the mainland eventually.
The CCP in turn pledged to reclaim what it regarded as a “renegade” province and achieve the final reunification of China.
Role of the U.S.: Taiwan could not be occupied militarily by the newly established People’s Republic of China (PRC) as it became a military ally of the United States during the Korean War of 1950-53.
This phase came to an end with the U.S. recognising the PRC as the legitimate government of China in 1979, ending its official relationship with Taiwan and abrogating its mutual defence treaty with the island.
Strategic ambiguity policy of the US: Nevertheless, the U.S. has declared that it will “maintain the ability to come to Taiwan’s defence” while not committing itself to do so.
This is the policy of “strategic ambiguity”.
The PRC has pursued a typical carrot and stick policy to achieve the reunification of Taiwan with the mainland.
It has held out the prospect, indeed preference for peaceful reunification, through promising a high degree of autonomy to the island under the “one country two systems”.
The “one country two systems” formula first applied to Hong Kong after its reversion to Chinese sovereignty in 1997.

Taiwan business entities have invested heavily in mainland China and the two economies have become increasingly integrated.
Between 1991 and 2020, the stock of Taiwanese capital invested in China reached U.S. $188.5 billion and bilateral trade in 2019 was U.S. $150 billion, about 15% of Taiwan’s GDP.
By the same token, China is capable of inflicting acute economic pain on Taiwan through coercive policies if the island is seen to drift towards an independent status.

Taiwan has two major political parties.
The KMT, dominated by the descendants of the mainlanders remains committed to a one-China policy.
The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), on the other hand, is more representative of the indigenous population of the island, and favours independence.
Faced with aggressive threats from China and lack of international support, the demand for independence has been muted.
Ever since the DPP under Tsai Ing-wen won the presidential elections in 2016, China has resorted to a series of hostile actions against the island, which include economic pressures and military threats.
One important implication of this development is that prospects for peaceful unification have diminished.
Sentiment in Taiwan in favour of independent status has increased.

While the U.S. does not support a declaration of independence by Taiwan, it has gradually reversed the policy of avoiding official-level engagements with the Taiwan government
The first breach occurred during the Donald Trump presidency.
The Joe Biden officials have continued this policy.
The Taiwanese representative in Washington was invited to attend the presidential inauguration ceremony (Biden), again a first since 1979.
Reports have now emerged that U.S. defence personnel have been, unannounced, training with their Taiwanese counterparts for sometime.

The recent crystallisation of the Quad, of which India is a part, and the announcement of the AUKUS, with Australia being graduated to a power with nuclear-powered submarines, may act as a deterrent against Chinese moves on Taiwan.
But they may equally propel China to advance the unification agenda before the balance changes against it in the Indo-Pacific.
For these reasons, Taiwan is emerging as a potential trigger point for a clash of arms between the U.S. and China.

Consider the question “What are the implications of Taiwan issue and the US involvement in it for India?”

In pursuing its Indo-Pacific strategy, India would do well to keep these possible scenarios in mind.

A ‘Taiwan flashpoint’ in the Indo-Pacific

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