January 23

Taiwan Strait

China War Conflict and conflict resolution Taiwan Trackbacks (0)

Managing a Cross-Strait Crisis
Source: National Security Outlook (American Enterprise Institute)

Nowhere in the world is the danger of a major war more serious in its potential consequences than in the Taiwan Strait. Policymakers both here and in the region are interested in finding ways to avoid a military confrontation between the Republic of China (Taiwan) and the People’s Republic of China (PRC). But should one begin, they will need to have available the tools to avoid a full-fledged conflagration. Naturally enough, security specialists have turned to the crisis management literature to devise strategies for addressing this latter problem. Are the literature and the strategies it has generated a good fit for the case of China and Taiwan–and, if not, what should be done to prepare for managing such a crisis?

Also available as PDF.

Docuticker

January 17

Taiwan

China Taiwan Trackbacks (0)

Formosan Association for Public Affairs

The Formosan Association for Public Affairs (FAPA) is a US based non-profit organisation which campaigns for the right of Taiwan to establish an independent nation. Its website provides information on its aims, membership and activities. It includes press releases, details of Taiwan related legislation and activitiy in the US congress and other petitions and papers. Topics covered include: relations between Taiwan and the USA; relations between China and Taiwan; criticism of the 'one China policy'.
http://www.fapa.org/

Taiwan security research Taiwan security research is an academic website maintained by staff based at Taiwan National University which seeks to aggregate English language information about all aspects of Taiwan security and regional security. It includes news headlines and links to full text articles and papers. Topics covered include elections in Taiwan, foreign policy, relations with America, relations between China and Taiwan.
http://www.taiwansecurity.org/

Taiwan Government Information Office, Republic of China

An official website of the government of Taiwan. Its English language version is used to promote taiwan to the world. It includes background information on the history and culture of the region, plus access to the latest political and economic headlines (as chosen by the government), Taiwan government press releases and online journals. these cover all areas of economic social and political policy. They include coverage of topical events such as elections and economic budgets and relations with China.
http://www.gio.gov.tw/

From Intute.ac.uk 

September 17

Taiwan

China United States of America Taiwan Trackbacks (0)

Taiwan’s Defense Budget: How Taipei’s Free Riding Risks War
Source: Cato Institute
From press release:

Taiwan’s free-riding on the United States for military defense coupled with its increasingly aggressive call for independence could drag the United States into a catastrophic war with China, finds a policy analysis report issued by the Cato Institute today.

“Taiwan’s overall investment in defense–approximately 2.6 percent of GDP–is woefully inadequate given the ongoing tensions with mainland China. … Taiwan spends far too little on its own defense, in large part because Taiwanese believe the United States is their ultimate protector,” according to the Cato Institute policy analysis “Taiwan’s Defense Budget: How Taipei’s Free Riding Risks War.”

As a result, “America is now in the unenviable position of having an implicit commitment to defend a fellow democracy that seems largely uninterested in defending itself,” write the authors, Justin Logan and Ted Galen Carpenter.

This scenario is aggravated by Taiwan’s internal politics, which increasingly push the envelope for independence. These internecine struggles often result in actions that greatly provoke China, such as their recent bid to join the United Nations under the name “Taiwan” instead of its official title “Republic of China.”

+ Full Document (PDF; 414 KB)

Docuticker