In the piece, titled “The Taiwan Fixation: American strategy shouldn’t hinge on an unwinnable war,” the authors say the U.S. should assist Taiwan “from a distance,” in a potential cross-strait conflict, and ensure that the U.S. position in Asia stays intact, regardless of how that conflict concludes.
Defense Priorities’ Kavanagh said Trump’s defense perimeters will likely not include South Korea or Taiwan. “I’m less sure how he views the U.S. commitments to the Philippines and Japan. I doubt either will be tested by China in the next four years, whereas the commitments to South Korea and Taiwan might be,” she said.
Carnegie’s Wertheim told Nikkei, “Already Trump has demoted China in his political narrative of who America’s enemies are. The ‘enemy within’ takes precedence.”
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