Taiwan's Quest for Independence Spells Higher Tension Between U.S and China

Just recently, I've been reading a book entitled Blow Back which was written by Chalmers Johnson. The title of the book, Blow Back is actually a term which was first constructed by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) that refers to the unintended implications of a country's covert policies. In this book, Chalmers Johnson explains the potential dangers that America faces with its endless projection of military power and capital markets with economic integration in its own terms on every corner of the earth. This book features a variety of interesting topics such as the case of rape by U.S servicemen in Okinawa, America's role in the Korean War and Asia's financial crisis as well as America's early support for Saddam Hussein. Although I am still in the midst of finishing this book, my recent completion on the topics relating to America's relationship with China and Taiwan has taught me an eye opening lesson: Taiwan's quest for independence will exacerbate higher tension between China and United States.

The Chinese and the Americans are hardly on good terms and such hostility can be traced from the early days of the Cold War where Communist China under the administration of Chairman Mao has been constantly reminding other nations (including the Soviet Union) to join forces against Western capitalism and imperialism through his countless propaganda. Such hostility against the United States continues until today and it can be exemplified by Chinese officials who tried to call off U.N. sanction against Tehran's nuclear program ( considered to be one of the Axis of Evil according to President Bush) with the purpose or weakening U.S. embargo policies on Iran. Such hostility from the Chinese clearly describes China's objective to reduce U.S. influence on the Eurasian continent.

With Taiwan seeking independence from China seeing that the country has its own distinct political and administration body, tensions between the United States and China are bound to escalate. The United States have military jurisdiction over Taiwan and at the same time, China's expresses its restriction to the Taiwanese request for independence through the threat of military invasion. In response to such threat from the Chinese, the Taiwanese are receiving military aid from the Americans since Taiwan is under the military jurisdiction of U.S as mentioned earlier. The Taiwanese military includes superior naval fleet with huge number of fighter jets capable of preventing any amphibious assault from China. With this knowledge in mind, the Chinese plans to deploy missiles instead of troops on the Taiwanese island. In order to repel the missile threat from the Chinese, the Americans suggested that the Taiwanese should establish Theater Missile Defense (TMD) systems around the island's coasts. The TMDs are anti missiles missiles that are capable of taking out any incoming missiles which is an ideal method of protecting the Taiwanese. Knowing that the Americans were militarily advising the Taiwanese, the Chinese were upset as they claimed that the Americans were interfering with China's internal affairs; thus exacerbating the tension between both super powers. Although both the United States and China have nuclear weapons among their arsenals, both countries are aware that the deployment of nuclear weapons from both sides will be mutually destructive and devastating; therefore, preventing any temptation for both parties to hit the ignition button of their nuclear missiles.

Although I am still in the midst of finishing this book, my recent completion on the topics relating to America's relationship with China and Taiwan has taught me an eye opening lesson: Taiwan's quest for independence will exacerbate higher tension between China and United States. Despite having both China and the United States constraining themselves from resorting to nuclear weapons, it wouldn't be a surprise if the Chinese decides to bomb the island of Okinawa, Japan given the number of American military bases located there which pose the nearest support for the Taiwanese and the Americans in the likely event that Taiwan insists on independence and military retaliation. In other words, Taiwan's quest for independence might force an uninvolved country like Japan into the crossfire of conflict. Based on my humble opinion, the Taiwanese are seeking for independence not only because of their distinct administration body but also because of the fact that their country will collapse under China's rule. If Taiwan could accept the fact that Hong Kong, a similar country to Taiwan which remained well under China's rule, perhaps they [the Taiwanese] will forfeit the quest for independence which will then result in the lower tension between the Chinese and the Americans.