|
We have so many members from East and Southeast Asia, that I'm curious how the US weapons deal with Taiwan is being viewed in the region. On the one hand, I realize that we made this commitment years ago so that backing out now might be seen as abandoning our promises. Nevertheless the whole notion of selling advanced armaments to Taiwan seems quite destabilizing to me. How threatened is Taiwan really in 2010? Certainly we're far from the days of the Quemoy/Matsu crisis. Do people in Taiwan and its neighbors really believe the Mainland Chinese will attack the island in the years to come? If we believe that the maintenance of a separate government on Taiwan is an important foreign-policy objective (personally I don't), wouldn't some form of multi-lateral treaty obligations among the US and other Asian states to defend Taiwan be more effective, and more stabilizing, in the long run?
|