China-Taiwan On-OFF Relations a Difficult Puzzle in East

Peace and stability in Taiwan depend on the future of the tactics of China, the United States and Taiwan.

Photo (https://unsplash.com/photos/au3CYbd7vCU)

Since Tsai Ing-wen became Taiwan's president in 2016, China's attitude towards Taiwan has become more aggressive. Beijing has not acknowledged Tsai's role in the 1992 referendum. He has pursued an independent foreign policy for Taiwan, which has made his relations with Beijing more and more complicated.

On the other hand, under the leadership of Tsai Ing-wen, the relationship between Taiwan and the United States is getting stronger and stronger. Despite protests from China, the US allowed them to extend their stay in the US for some more time, no wonder. In August 2018, Tsai visited NASA headquarters and in July 2019, he was allowed to stay in New York for two more days. Earlier, the United States allowed Taiwan's president to extend his stay for only a few hours. Later, in July 2019, Tsai returned from Latin America and spent two days in Denver. During the visit, they also discussed the concept of a free trade agreement with Colorado.

Taiwan is also an important issue in Sino-US relations. Zakin Zhu, a professor of political science and international relations at Bucknell University in Taiwan, says Taiwan will be a "chess pawn" between Washington and Beijing. As these relations deepen, the importance of Taipei will continue to grow. The US decision to sell 66 F-16V jets to Taiwan for 8 billion has puzzled Beijing. China has expressed dissatisfaction with the deal. China can go to any lengths to protect its interests, so the United States should be prepared to suffer the consequences of this deal, China has said. These jets are believed to make it easier for Taipei to respond to Beijing's air strikes.

But Beijing has also worked to stifle Taiwan's diplomacy. Over the past few years, China has taken advantage of its economic situation to force many countries to change their political relations. In the last four years, the number of nations with foreign relations with Taiwan has dropped to 17. Countries like El Salvador, Burkina Faso, Dominican Republicans and the Vatican have shown support for China. This will be a major political challenge for Taiwan in the years to come. In May 2019, US Assistant Secretary of State for Southeast Asia W.J. Patrick Murphy had urged the Pacific island nations not to change their political relations. While Taipei has consistently underlined its democratic existence, China's money and investment is so large that small countries cannot deny it.

Explaining its position on Taiwan, China has discussed this in detail in the Security White Paper published on July 24, 2019. The Chinese government constantly publishes white papers on various issues which make it easy to understand the direction and objectives of its policies. In line with Xi Jinping's goal, the recently published White Paper is entitled "China's National Security in the New Age." This is the 10th Security White Paper published since the 18th Party Congress in 2012. The White Paper covers a total of six subdivisions: "International Security Situation, New Age China's Defense National Security Policy, New Age China's Armed Forces Missions and Tasks, China's National Defense and Armed Forces Reform,"

Discussions on China's growing expansionism have begun, in response to which the White Paper seeks to promote China's peaceful development and non-hegemonic policy. However, when the issue of Taiwan arises, the role of the Chinese government is aggressive. The White Paper criticizes the Democratic People's Party (DPP) for its role in supporting Taiwan's independence and for the deterioration of Sino-Taiwanese relations.

The White Paper claims that "they (DPPs), with the help of foreign powers, are increasingly hostile and hostile, insisting on the demand for legal independence, gradually standing up for independence, severing ties with the mainland and becoming more and more separatist." This statement is consistent with Xi's position that "China will not give up even an inch of land in its territory." He made the remarks during a meeting with US Secretary of Defense James Mattis in June 2018.

In addition, China has accused Taipei of being involved in the ongoing protests in Hong Kong. Responding to the allegation, Taiwan claimed that it was never part of the "one country, two systems" system. Explaining its role, Taiwan's internal affairs office said, "The Chinese Communist Party must acknowledge its mistakes and begin to pursue political reform, embrace democracy and respect human rights." Only by doing so will Beijing find solutions to its internal and external problems. " It is clear from this statement that Taiwan has an independent view of the current situation and will never bow to China's views. They are also not ready to accept the equation of "one country, two systems".

The DPP has sealed Tsai Ing-wen's name for the 2020 presidential election. The relationship between Tsai and Xi is currently very strained. Inter-relations between the two countries have also reached a low point. If Tsai wins the January 2020 election, relations are likely to deteriorate further. Peace and stability in Taiwan depend on what changes take place in the tactics of China, the United States and Taiwan. These three factors are active enough, and each has made a significant impact on the developments in the region.