President Biden has been chipping away at America’s longstanding policy of strategic ambiguity on a potential defense of Taiwan. Four times he has stated unequivocally that his administration will defend Taiwan. Just as faithfully, State Department and White House spokespersons responded to each Biden defense commitment by “clarifying” that U.S. policy regarding Taiwan has not…
Author: Joseph Bosco, opinion contributor
China sees Ukraine as a test of US will on defending Taiwan
The last time the world faced a concerted attack on the international order from multiple enemies was in the 1930s with the expansionist policies of the Italian Fascists led by Benito Mussolini, Nazi Germany under Adolf Hitler, and Imperial Japan led by Hideki Tojo. On the European front, Mussolini made the first violent move when…
Are China and the US edging toward ‘Henry Kissinger’s war’?
Henry Kissinger was present at the creation of contemporary U.S.- China relations and assiduously nurtured them through eight U.S. administrations and five Chinese rulers over half a century. But now he is concerned that the fruition of his long-entrenched engagement policies could lead to a Sino-U.S. war with “catastrophic” global consequences. Yet, during a Wilson…
China and Russia escalate to intimidate; America de-escalates to accommodate
The Defense Department’s 2018 Nuclear Posture Review described Russia’s nuclear strategy as an “escalate to de-escalate doctrine.” Moscow calculated that threatening to use tactical nuclear weapons would deter U.S. intervention in any Russian regional conflict. Sure enough, as Vladimir Putin launched Russia’s next invasion of Ukraine, after going into eastern Ukraine and Crimea in 2014,…
Trump has tarnished his administration’s legacy and betrayed the GOP
Former President Trump seems determined to detract from the substantial accomplishments of his administration, especially its transformation of critical U.S.-Taiwan-China relations. His behavior since the 2020 election also has deeply damaged the reputation and prospects of the Republican Party, which honored him twice with its presidential nomination and defended him loyally against both partisan attacks…
Biden and US pundits must stop legitimizing Russian and Chinese threats
Last week, spokespersons for Ukraine’s military regretted that rigid conditions imposed by the Biden administration prevent it from pushing Russian forces farther back, even out of Ukraine’s territory altogether. Ukraine’s defense minister, Olekseii Reznikov, said: “We promised our partners that we will use their weapons only on Ukrainian territory. … It’s a problem.” The few…
Ukraine’s lessons for Taiwan grow more ominous
The longer the Biden administration continues delaying and stinting its support for Ukraine without enabling Kyiv to halt and reverse Russia’s invasion, the more precarious both Ukraine’s and Taiwan’s positions become. This is not to disparage the substantial volume of U.S. and NATO weaponry that has flowed into Ukraine from a standing start, and for…
The Abe legacy and the China and North Korea threats
Immediately after Japan’s newly elected prime minister, Shinzo Abe, met with President Barack Obama in February 2013, he delivered a major policy address at an event hosted by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). In his talk, which he entitled, “Japan is Back,” Abe laid out his thinking on why he decided to…
The RNC and DNC have time to prevent an electoral disaster in 2024
The 2016 and 2020 presidential elections and their aftermath should have been warning shots to the Republican and Democratic parties on the fragility of our electoral system and the need for significant reforms. In both elections, the parties put up deeply flawed candidates who, once again, presented Americans with a choice of “the lesser of…
G-7 nations must reject China’s Taiwan Strait claim
History will record that the United States and NATO, after repeatedly encouraging Ukraine’s membership, failed abysmally to deter or defeat Russia’s ongoing aggression and the consequent death, destruction and loss of Ukrainian sovereignty. China has learned important lessons in pursuing its own ambitions against Taiwan, including the critical role of maritime domain control. Russia’s domination…