Taiwan matters more than we’d like to tell ourselves

Source: The post is based on the article “Taiwan matters more than we’d like to tell ourselves” published in Mint on 14^th April 2023.

Syllabus: GS 2 – International Relations

Relevance: About Taiwan and China conflict

News: The article discusses the ongoing conflict between China and Taiwan and its probable impact.

What are ongoing concerns between China and Taiwan?

Taiwan is home to the world’s largest semiconductor company and there are threats of attack increasing from China. For this reason, the company planned to set up a new plant in the US.

However, the plan failed and if China attacks Taiwan, there may be concerns that China will enjoy dominant control of chip production.

Further, even the French President has insisted European countries not to get involved in China-Taiwan conflict.

On the other hand, China has increased its military exercise near Taiwan and sent fighter jets repeatedly into the Taiwan airspace.

China’s military strength is far more superior than Taiwan’s. Due to which, Taiwan’s President is looking for the help from the US but its leader of opposition is supporting China.

Moreover, China is strengthening its relations with Russia and developing debt trap policies for other countries.

China also made a commitment to manage Hong Kong as a liberal, semi-autonomous financial hub, but instead, it is imposing media censorship and imprisoning people.

Must Read: What game theory tells us about China-Taiwan face-off

What lies ahead?

If China attacks Taiwan, then it is unlikely that Taiwan will be able to defend itself for a long period of time, as the Ukraine did.

Moreover, the opposition party in Taiwan is expected to win the general election next year, which supports China. This will change the situation of Taiwan like that of Hong Kong.

The concern here lies in the fact that Taiwan is the epicentre of global semiconductor production, with a 90% share of very advanced semiconductors. Hence, there are worries over it, if any such attacks happen in the future.