Taiwanese Sovereignty is American Security

Mike Coté

Mike Coté is a writer and podcaster focusing on history, Great Power rivalry, and geopolitics. He has a Master’s degree in European history, and is working on a book about the Anglo-German economic and strategic rivalry before World War I. He writes for National Review, Providence Magazine, and The Federalist, hosts the Rational Policy podcast, and can be found on Twitter @ratlpolicy.

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15 Responses

  1. Chip Daniels
    Ignored
    says:

    This is a well reasoned essay, so rather than being an amen choir I will just point out that you can’t reason someone out of a position they didn’t reason themself into.

    Meaning that as we mentioned in the Israel/ Palestine thread, most American positions on foreign affairs tend to be driven by domestic politics.

    In our current political moment, the isolationists are almost always driven by a cultural reactionary impulse. Notice the way that tweet frames support for Taiwan as something desired by nefarious “elites”.

    As I mentioned in the other thread, populism always has a stench of illiberalism and question for authoritarianism.
    The thrust of the tweet isn’t to promote economic independence and have a fruitful and mutually rewarding trade with Taiwan.

    No, the thrust of the argument is to punish someone, to right a grievance. Even though it would take decades to build the industry he mentions, he still suggests we should abandon Taiwan no matter what horrors befall its people.

    This isn’t any sort of reason. It doesn’t have any logic. But it does satisfy the dark hunger for vengeance to punish the “elites”, those who are defined as “Not The People.”Report

    • Pinky in reply to Chip Daniels
      Ignored
      says:

      Pat Buchanan got in trouble for almost exactly this comment, about the “amen corner” supporting Israel. But the Left is allowed to smear (((neocons))) without anyone complaining.Report

      • Chip Daniels in reply to Pinky
        Ignored
        says:

        I’m….complaining.

        And President Biden, Vice President Harris, Nancy Pelosi, Chuck Schumer, and almost the entire Democratic Party is solidly supporting Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan.

        Can the same be said of Trump, DeSantis, McCarthy, or Tucker Carlson?Report

      • InMD in reply to Pinky
        Ignored
        says:

        I mean.. there’s lots of blood on hands to go around and all over Iraq but are Bill Kristol, Charles Krauthammer, etc. immune from criticism because of their religion?

        I also think the biggest neocon still out there in politics and the discourse is John Bolton.Report

        • Pinky in reply to InMD
          Ignored
          says:

          The phrase “amen choir” is a bit odd. Not the oddest phrase ever, but I don’t remember seeing it referring to anything other than neoconservatives.Report

          • North in reply to Pinky
            Ignored
            says:

            Eh, they are the authors of what is pretty arguably the US’s worst foreign policy blunder in the history of the country (or at least top three). They probably deserve it.Report

          • InMD in reply to Pinky
            Ignored
            says:

            The only instance I’m aware of is the one you referenced with Buchanan. I had always understood it as a reference to evangelical Christian supporters of Israel rather than Jewish but possible I’m wrong. I guess I never really thought about it that hard though.Report

          • CJColucci in reply to Pinky
            Ignored
            says:

            What is so isn’t limited to what you know.Report

  2. Damon
    Ignored
    says:

    I’ll just ask this because I had this conversation with a guy at the gym who works with one of the “three letter” agencies:

    Draw me a line where you are prepared to go no farther in supporting/defending Taiwan because when 5,000 sailors die after an America carrier is taken out, I think you’re going to have a massive pubic outcry to get the hell out of Taiwan, or an outcry to nuke mainland china. Neither seems a good development.Report

  3. InMD
    Ignored
    says:

    What we should do depends in a lot of ways on what Taiwan will do and at what cost to the United States. Ukraine has been defensible because they proved willing and able to defend themselves. We’re also conveniently equipped to give them lots of stuff we are sunsetting and it isn’t like there’s some other enemy European materiel would he used againt. If the cost is similar to Ukraine then it’s a no brainer.

    The problem is we won’t know until the first missile hits. The last thing we should do is risk a war with a nuclear power over a country that isn’t clearly committed to its own independence and defense. It isn’t like Taiwan hasn’t had the entirety of its existence to prepare for the scenario.Report

    • North in reply to InMD
      Ignored
      says:

      That is a good point. Heck, if we could know for sure that Taiwan is as dedicated to their own independence as much as the Ukrainians are Taiwan would be ludicrously easier to defend. It is starting with an enormously better economy, military and geographic position. Has China ever done a successful amphibious invasion? Like… ever?Report

      • InMD in reply to North
        Ignored
        says:

        I learned in the below article the other day that in 1949 communist Chinese forces invaded Kinmen which is a part of Taiwan in sight of the Chinese mainland and that it was a complete debacle for them. Not sure how relevant it would be now but to your point there’s reason to believe an island could hold out, provided its prepared itself to do so.

        https://www.economist.com/asia/2023/04/05/the-view-from-the-front-line-between-taiwan-and-chinaReport

      • Dark Matter in reply to North
        Ignored
        says:

        1) Amphibious invasions are considered very hard.
        2) Even by those those standards Taiwan would be hard for various reasons.
        3) China’s military, especially their navy, is at best untested and at worst openly inferior to what we thought Russia’s army was 5 years ago.
        4) Taiwan is a democracy, China is a dictatorship. This implies Taiwan’s support is higher and China’s lower than what we think.
        5) China is going down a dark path and it’s getting darker. That’s politically, economically, and demographically. They’re not our friends and we could easily be seeing them either fall apart or going full genocide even more than they already are.

        I could easily break that last one into about 4 different points but whatever.Report

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