The News Lens
Date: 2018/07/19
By: Brian Hioe, 破土 New Bloom

Photo Credit: Reuters / TPG

It would be a mistake to take the US decision to sail destroyers through the Taiwan Strait as an indication of support for Taiwan.

The American government sailing two destroyers through the Taiwan Straits earlier this month has been interpreted by some in Taiwan as a continued sign of stronger American support for Taiwan under President Donald Trump. However, some skepticism is in order.

First and foremost, one would do well to remember that being anti-China does not necessarily mean being pro-Taiwan. It is probable that American destroyers were ordered into the Taiwan Strait due to the fact that America’s trade war with China has begun in earnest, with the two sides on the brink of imposing punitive tariffs on bilateral trade flows worth US$100 billion.

In this, China followed America’s lead, seeing as the U.S. has in past months suddenly embarked on a trade war with friend and foe alike, targeting not only China, but also long-standing European allies and Canada. China has claimed that it will take necessary and justified measures to retaliate against trade threats by America, while also positioning itself as a possible new guarantor of the international economic order that America long defended, but now has broken away from.    [FULL  STORY]