The boiling point of US tensions with China: Taiwan
Taiwan is gradually becoming the center of tension between the United States and China. US actions in declaring support for Taiwan against China have made the island of Taiwan a hotbed of tension in the South China Sea. US President Joe Biden recently sent an informal delegation to Taiwan to mark the 42nd anniversary of the passage of the Taiwan Relations Act in the US Senate as a sign of US commitment to Taiwan in the small island dispute with Beijing. Apparently, in the context of tensions and competition with China, the United States intends to upgrade its strategic and special relationship with Taiwan and increase its relationship with the island to the level of Washington’s relationship with other US strategic allies in the world.
The United States is even seeking to open NATO to East and Southeast Asia in the context of new competition with China. It is now clear that the United States, in the light of adopting a new strategy of competition and tension with China, is willing to abandon the strategy of “strategic ambiguity” towards the island of Taiwan, in contrast to the years after de-escalation with Beijing, to return to the old approach. Provide Taiwan defense against Beijing.
The importance of Taiwan for China As the evidence shows, China will not be willing to compromise on the Taiwan issue as an integral part of its territory for any of the following reasons. As a result, US behavior in the South China Sea has played a decisive role in the outbreak of military conflict. There will be tensions between China and the United States over Taiwan because Beijing’s position on Taiwan is quite clear. The South China Sea, where Taiwan is part of China, has an important geopolitical and geoeconomic position for China and the global economy.
The mainland of China is connected to the world’s open waters and sea routes through two very important waterways; The Strait of Malacca in the south and the strategic straits around the island of Taiwan in the north of the South China Sea (sea routes connecting China to the waters of the eastern and southern Philippines are very long and uneconomical). As a result, as Taiwan is considered an integral part of Chinese territory, and because of tensions in China’s relations with its neighbors around the Straits of Malacca, Beijing will by no means waive its unique privilege of full control of Taiwan territory. Taiwan is the world’s largest producer of semiconductor chips.
Taiwan Semiconductor Industry Corporation (TSMC) is the world’s largest chipmaker and the best chip supplier for high-tech and other major industries in the world. TCMC and Samsung in South Korea are said to be the only companies in the world with the technical know-how to make the smallest and most advanced chips, producing about 90 percent of them. A Center for Strategic Studies in International Relations in India estimates that Taiwan manufactures 84% of the world’s most advanced semiconductor chips. In addition to the high-tech industries, today semiconductor chips are used in almost all industries, including aircraft, automobiles, etc.
The decline in exports of semiconductor chips from Taiwan to the United States in 2020 (due to the Corona epidemic) led to a 10 percent increase in car prices in the United States. Semiconductors are another manifestation of the ambitious ambitions and high-tech competition between the United States and China. Taiwan has significant islands and areas in the South China Sea. Given China’s macro approach to dominating the South China Sea, including China’s construction of artificial islands, domination of the disputed islands, and strengthening its military presence in the region, Beijing is unlikely to give up this part of its territory at sea.
The South China Sea, in addition to its geopolitical importance to China, also has tremendous geoeconomic value because, in addition to accounting for 30% of the world’s shipping, it is the gateway to global connections to emerging economies in Asia. And has oil and gas. China has historically had undisputed dominance over the South China Sea before 1945, so Beijing is well aware of the importance of the South China Sea’s role in China’s globalization throughout history. The South China Sea is now the lifeblood of the Chinese Silk Road idea. When China has taken military control of islands far from its homeland in the South China Sea, such as the Spratly archipelago off the coast of the Philippines (contrary to the ruling of the International Court of Justice), how about Taiwan, which is naturally part of China? To pass? Beijing has so far made it clear that it is by no means willing to back down from the United States on its territorial issues, such as Taiwan, Hong Kong, Xinjiang, and Tibet, as it has repeatedly warned Washington.
