Ending Strategic Ambiguity is not enough. We need to develop a vision on how we want to include Taiwan into the family of nations.

The National Interest
Date: September 29, 2020
By: Gerrit van der Wees

The year 2020 is turning out to be the year in which the United States transitioned from the well-worn concept of strategic ambiguity to a new vision of strategic clarity in how we counter China’s ambitions to take Taiwan.

While the concept of strategic ambiguity itself has its roots back in the 1950s, it was Clinton Administration official Joseph Nye who stated it most clearly, when asked during the 1995-96 Taiwan Strait missile crisis whether the U.S. would come to the defense of Taiwan, he said: “It depends on the circumstances.” In other words, the best deterrent was perceived to be to keep them guessing.

Some observers, such as former Pentagon official Joe Bosco have long argued that this approach had outlived its usefulness, and that there was a need for strategic clarity.
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