The Taiwan Travel Act merely signals the potential of closer US-Taiwan ties, and from a reluctant and unpredictable White House at that.

The News Lens
Date: 2018/03/22
By: By Brian Hioe

Photo Credit: Reuters/達志影像

The passage of the TTA (TTA) has been hailed as a triumph by pro-Taiwan groups in the U.S. as representing a step forward in advancing U.S.-Taiwan relations, usually with the claim that the U.S. and Taiwan share democratic values. It is only natural for America and Taiwan to build stronger ties in the face of threats from China, they claim.

Yet coverage of the passage of the TTA by Western media (summarized here on The View from Taiwan) often acts as though the move were not in America’s strategic interest or founded on rational calculation. Instead, the TTA is cited as another dangerous move by the Trump administration, one which will be dangerously provocative of China.

These two polarized positions appear to share a sense of the TTA’s significance for future relations between the U.S., Taiwan, and China. However, both positions miss the point entirely. The passage of the TTA changes very little about the fundamentals of U.S.-Taiwan relations, but instead simply makes a new tactical move available in their diplomatic repertoire.   [FULL  STORY]