COVID-19 has been ruthless in choosing winners and losers around the world. The obvious “losers” have been those countries led by right-wing nationalists: Brazil, India, Russia, the United Kingdom, and (until recently) the United States. These five countries are responsible for more than half of the world’s coronavirus infections and nearly half the deaths. Just…
Taiwan has found itself increasingly in the middle of the growing power struggle between a waning US and a rising China. Taiwan is recognized by both the UN and the vast majority of the world’s nations including (officially) the United States under the One China policy – but Taiwan’s pro-independence circles have nonetheless enjoyed large…
The outcome of the US elections (whose end is still unclear), and the signing of an agreement on forming a free trade zone involving the participation of 10 ASEAN countries, China, Japan, South Korea, Australia, and New Zealand (the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, or RCEP), are two of the most notable events in the past…
After 40 years of “strategic ambiguity” in its partnership with the United States, Taiwan has taken the unprecedented move of calling Washington for “clarity” on whether it would be defended in the event of armed conflict with China. The Washington Post reported last week a senior Taiwanese representative to the U.S. as saying: “We need…
The $1.4 billion increase in Taiwan’s military spending next year is still not enough to achieve effective defense, said David Helvey, Principal Director for East Asia in the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Asian and Pacific Security Affairs. He made the comments during a two-day video conference hosted by the U.S.-Taiwan Defense…
It’s important to explain the context of the island leadership’s provocative comments in order to better understand why everything isn’t as simple as they try to make it seem. Taiwan’s self-described “Ministry of National Defense” released a statement on Monday claiming that it reserves the right to “self-defence and to counter attack”, ostensibly in response…
