EAST ASIA PEACE & SECURITY
INITIATIVE

Our mission is educating the public, policymakers, and journalists on the changing regional security architecture, as well as contributing policy analysis and commentary to inform the U.S. approach to regional affairs. Our primary focus is on China-Taiwan relations and the role of the U.S. in that relationship, as well as how that evolving dynamic can shape other regional issues involving the U.S. and China.

This value-free website contains two e-books and a third one is in progress. We include a number of photographs we have taken in China, Taiwan, and North Korea. The website publishes several evolving blogs about recent Northeast Asia issues, but focuses primarily on the impact on China-Taiwan-U.S. relations. Under “Cross-Strait Relations”, you will find a useful Chronology of China-Taiwan-U.S. interactions which is supported by a collection of official documents in English and Chinese. We also built country profiles of the four major actors: China, Taiwan, U.S. and Japan. In this section, we identify “Key Issues" that cover areas of cooperation and conflict between the major actors. Finally, this section offers additional resources that could be useful in any in-depth analysis of these topics. Recently we added a new section to include “Other Regional Issues” - the THAAD problem, the discussion of Tactical Nuclear Weapons on the Peninsula, the East China Sea, the South China Sea, and evolving China-Taiwan-Vatican ties.

E-BOOK: STRAIT TALK

EXCERPT FROM CHAPTER 2: 

Taiwan’s current insistence on China’s democratization is not without reason. China’s communist system has shown repeatedly that it cannot cope with the succession issue. 

Strait Talk: An In-depth Analysis of China, Taiwan, US Relations

written by
COLONEL (RET.) MONTE R. BULLARD, PHD

EXCERPT FROM CHAPTER 5: 

The definition of one China became increasingly important to the point that actions perceived by China to be contrary to the one China principle have interrupted the negotiation process.

EXCERPT FROM CHAPTER 4: 

Just knowing that nearly all Chinese military actions are designed more for the political consequences than for military results will help to predict future military actions and to prevent serious miscalculations in a future conflict.

EXCERPT FROM CONCLUSION: 

Taiwan is not like Hong Kong. China could have recovered Hong Kong at any time during the past fifty years through military means, but they did not. They could also have accomplished a takeover through non-military means. They could literally have cut off Hong Kong's water. China cannot easily recover Taiwan by military means without destroying all they are trying to recover. Further, unification as a result of military means would result in a part of China that would continue to feel intimidated and oppressed as if by an alien power. It would create another area, like Tibet and Xinjiang, that would be a source of perpetual dissent and potential uprising.

E-BOOK: CHINA'S NATIONAL INTEREST

EXCERPT FROM CONCLUSION

We must deepen reform and strengthen our power to realize national interests. Attaining national interests depends on power. Without power, achieving national interests can only be a beautiful dream. For China, deepening reform is the basis for strengthening power.

An Analysis of China's National Interest

written by
YAN XUETONG

E-BOOK: ONE CHINA, FIVE INTERPRETATIONS

EXCERPT FROM CHAPTER 1: 

There is no precedent providing definitions of ‘China’ and ‘one China’...in the U.S.-PRC communiqués the U.S. leaves the concepts undefined, whereas in the TRA the U.S. makes no mention of ‘one China’. It has left the future status of the ROC, the PRC, China, and Taiwan to be determined.

One China, Five Interpretations

written by
JUDITH M. NORTON, PHD

EXCERPT FROM CHAPTER 2: 

The PRC's "One China Principle" contains the legal right to use force against Taiwan to resolve issues, while the U.S.'s "One China Policy" also asserts the lawful right to deter the PRC’s use of force against Taiwan. Both the PRC and the U.S. claim these rights are grounded in international law and embed these rights in their domestic laws.

CROSS-STRAIT
RELATIONS

CROSS-STRAIT TIMELINE

OFFICIAL DOCUMENTS

MAJOR ACTORS

KEY ISSUES

One Country, Two Systems

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

Reports, Articles &
Interviews

MAJOR ACTORS

BLOG POSTS

Taiwan's Domestic Politics - A Potential Source of Instability

The following interview is based on an informal discussion with a former senior official in Taiwan who is concerned that there are forces within Taiwan that could lead to instability and, in collusion with the U.S., potentially a military confrontation with China. The interviewee underscores the importance of the findings of my e-book Strait Talk: An In-depth Analysis of China-Taiwan-U.S. Relations, that the optimal solution is for the next generations to find an answer to the Taiwan-China issue and it should be found by the young people on both sides of the strait.

US, Taiwan, China and the Case of the Missing Flag

The US government continues to remove the Republic of China (ROC Taiwan) flag from government websites. This time, both the ROC Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the US Department of State assert that there are no changes to US-Taiwan relations and both sides reaffirmed ties. But the removal of the flag is puzzling because there are different flags representing the ROC and Taiwan. So the removal of it could send different signals to Taiwan's KMT, Taiwan's DPP, and China, all of which could have different interpretations of the action, however trivial it may appear, which could prove detrimental to the evolving US-China-Taiwan dynamic.

The America First National Security Strategy: A Constructive Critique

We are China specialists. We support the America First National Security Strategy (AFNSS), but in this case, we offer a constructive critique of the document. Our review of the strategy was to identify America’s view of China so we could adjust our examination of China policy and, most importantly, the potential for conflict with China. Unfortunately, the AFNSS didn’t offer us much help.