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Geostrategy in Taiwan refers to theforeign relations of Taiwan in the context of thegeography of Taiwan.Taiwan is anisland country inEast Asia, while it is also located at the center of thefirst island chain and commands the busy traffic ofTaiwan Strait andBashi Channel.
In 1683 theQing dynasty'sKangxi Emperor commented on the strategic value of Taiwan, saying"Taiwan is nothing but a tiny island. The empire earns nothing with it and loses nothing without it."[1]
After theSino-French War of 1884–1885, the Qing dynasty started to notice the strategic importance of Taiwan. After theFirst Sino-Japanese War of 1894–1895, the Qing dynasty yielded the sovereignty of Taiwan to Japan byTreaty of Shimonoseki, which is opposed byRussian,French andGerman, who also have interests in taking over Taiwan island, but in vain. Taiwan has gone from a natural barrier of Qing dynasty toJapan's bridgehead of expansion after Japan acquiringRyukyu Islands.
In the scope of a larger geostrategic picture, Taiwan is also located in the rimland of theEast Asia inner sea, the so-calledAsiatic Mediterranean, which is described byNicholas John Spykman's book,The Geography of the Peace (1944), asFormosa. Spykman provided the insight that it is the rimland that the real struggle for mastery has taken place since the great naval battle inAsia-Pacific ocean duringWorld War II happened largely in the inner sea.Halford John Mackinder also modified his earlierHeartland Theory and published an articleThe round world and the winning of the peace in 1943Foreign Affairs to emphasize the importance of rimlands and marginal seas.[2]
TheThird Taiwan Strait Crisis in 1996 and the1997 Asian financial crisis show that the safety, security and stability of Taiwan does affect the steadiness of the East Asia region.[3]
In terms of its geostrategic importanceRandall Schriver called Taiwan “today’s Indo-PacificFulda Gap.” however its importance has been questioned by other American scholars.[4]
After political transition from one partyauthoritarian to moderndemocracy, there are now multiple parties participating in competitive campaigns in local and national elections in Taiwan, including but not limited to municipalmayors and thepresident of Taiwan. The economy of Taiwan is highly dependent on foreign trade utilizing the sea lane.[citation needed]
In April 2014, the International Environmental Partnership was founded in Taipei, Taiwan byEnvironmental Protection Administration Taiwan, with founding partner from U.S.Environmental Protection Agency to address the following environmental challenges:[5][6][7]
Global Cooperation and Training Framework is held byAmerican Institute in Taiwan and Taiwan Council for U.S. Affairs for broader U.S.-Taiwan cooperation, which allow Taiwan to engage in theAsia Pacific region and the world with the United States. The GCTF cooperation address issues on international humanitarian assistance,public health,environmental protection,energy,technology,education and regional development.
The Framework is a milestone for Taiwan to transform from an international aid recipient to an aid provider.[8][9][10]
American Institute in Taiwan cohost with Japan to open GCTF on Network Security and emerging technologies, which is a multilateral platform for Taiwan to cooperate with Japan, Chile, Mexico,Federal Communications Commission andUnited States Department of Homeland Security experts and law enforcements, including endorsing thePrague Proposal of5G network security.[11][12][13]
American Institute in Taiwan cohost withTaiwan Foundation for Democracy to open GCTF onDefending Democracy through Media Literacy.National Security Strategy (United States) describes a geopolitical competition between free and repressive visions of governance is being played out in Taiwan and United States. There are foreign actors using social media to interfere elections in United States. Taiwan is also on the frontlines to marshal academic, policy, and technical resources to confront external pressures.[14]
Second GCTF on media literacy discuss the implementation of media literacy education in curriculums and how governments and private enterprises can cooperate to combat disinformation, among other challenges.[15][16]
Modern China's attitude towards Taiwan also reflects the need for China to compete with the United States in terms of security.[17]: 60 ToPeople's Liberation Army Navy's naval planners the control of Taiwan has strategic value as a gateway to thePacific Ocean.[18] Analysts point out that control over Taiwan and its deeper eastern waters would provide China'sballistic missile submarines with lessdetectable access to the wider Pacific where they would serve as an important component of a crediblesecond strike capability.[19][17]: 148–149
According to Yuan-kang Wang Taiwan should synchronize security interests with the United States in current context, including President Obama's Asia rebalancing strategy and President Trump's "free and open Indo-Pacific" strategy. The minimum defense requirement for Taiwan is to withstand the first wave of PRC attack before the U.S. assistance. It is also critical for Taiwan to build a consensus on how to deal with China.[20]
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