OPINION:
China is slowly encircling Taiwan.
President Xi Jinping has made it clear that he seeks to conquer Taiwan, and his military has developed the capabilities to do so. Taiwan’s security is in the balance, but so is America’s.
Americans should recognize that Taiwan is a strategic partner that plays a key role in the economic, geostrategic and political fight against China. If China were to conquer Taiwan, America’s security would be imperiled.
Taiwan matters to Americans for five major reasons. The first is economic. Taiwan is a vibrant, wealthy economy and a powerhouse in chip production. It produces about 90% of the world’s most advanced semiconductors.
Any damage to Taiwan’s factories, including their destruction or a successful conquest by China, could cause a depression for the U.S. and global economies, a shock that would reverberate for many years. There may come a day when the U.S. no longer depends on Taiwanese chips because of the Trump administration’s “onshoring” policies, but that day will not be for some years.
As important as semiconductors are, Taiwan is more important to the global economy for other technologies. Taiwan contributes to the development of artificial intelligence and next-generation communications. In fact, one of the quickest and most effective ways for Mr. Xi to hurt the U.S. economy would be to attack Taiwan.
Second, Taiwan occupies key geopolitical real estate, as Beijing and Washington recognize. In the cold war with China, Taiwan is a cork in the bottle of the First Island Chain from Japan to the Philippines. This prevents the People’s Liberation Army Navy from easily accessing the Pacific and further expanding its power.
A free Taiwan also augments the ability of the U.S. and allied militaries to restrict access to some of China’s most important ports. A free Taiwan sustains the First Island Chain but also the Sea Lines of Communication from the East and South China seas. Sustaining Taiwan’s freedom is a key national security interest of the United States.
Third, Taiwan is a strong democracy, and so, in the realm of political warfare, its polity demonstrates what China might have been had the Chinese Communist Party not come to power in 1949. Taiwan’s existence is a daily reminder of why the CCP is illegitimate. In fact, a major reason Mr. Xi is so determined to conquer Taiwan is rooted in his understanding that the CCP is a fraudulent product of Soviet imperialism and has no right to rule China.
The Soviets created the CCP in 1921. Josef Stalin picked Mao Zedong over Mao’s rival in 1938, and Stalin’s direction and aid — and American mistakes — brought the CCP to power. The existence of Taiwan illustrates what China’s political system might look like if the CCP were to fall from power. The road to the return of China’s greatness and lustration under a new government may travel through Taipei.
Fourth, Taiwan is a symbol of U.S. credibility to resist China’s aggression and thus to defend its interests and allies against its existential enemy. Just as West Berlin was an important symbol of the West’s stand against Soviet aggression during the Cold War, Taiwan today is an icon for the world regarding the willingness of the U.S. and its allies to resist the CCP’s expansion.
Finally, history matters, and too few Americans realize that the U.S. and Taiwan sacrificed mightily during the Cold War. Taiwan was seen as vital to U.S. national security because it was a key ally and a frontline state in the battle against communism. During the Cold War, Taiwan allowed the U.S. to store nuclear weapons that would be used against China in the event of World War III.
Taiwan allowed the U.S. to collect intelligence against China, served as an important logistical hub and functioned as an unsinkable aircraft carrier to strike targets in communist China if the Cold War turned hot. Taiwanese pilots flew overflights of China using advanced U.S. aircraft, including RB-57s, and the famous “Black Cat” squadron flew U-2s from the early 1960s to the 1970s.
Taiwan fought artillery duels with the People’s Liberation Army on the offshore islands of Kinmen (Quemoy) and Matsu, including during the second Taiwan Strait crisis of 1958, and clashed repeatedly with Chinese aircraft and vessels in the air and waters around Taiwan.
Although it may be overlooked today, Taipei contributed to the U.S. war in Vietnam, working covertly with U.S. and South Vietnamese forces against North Vietnam’s aggression.
Just as it was during the Cold War, Taiwan has been a valuable ally, and its importance for U.S. security remains today.
• Bradley A. Thayer is an American Freedom Alliance fellow and the author of “America’s Hundred Years’ War: How to Win Against Communism.”
Please read our comment policy before commenting.