Taiwan Tati Cultural and Educational Foundation

In much of Western thinking and commentary about the "Taiwan problem" and peace in the Taiwan Strait, is based on a gross misunderstanding of the root of this problem. Leave aside for now the hegemonic ambitions of China that by possessing Taiwan it will have blue water access for its submarines and be able to control the flow of traffic between the East and South China Seas. Further, leave aside the mistaken canard that in the Treaty of Shimonoseki (1895); the Manchu Qing surrendered all of Taiwan to Japan. The Qing could only legitimately grant the western half of Taiwan that it controlled. Japan by conquest of the indigenous people on the "free;" eastern side became the first nation to both control and rule the whole island of Taiwan. Go beyond this; the real root of the problem in the Taiwan Strait is a misunderstanding and misreading of the complex dynamics of multiple, changing and conflicting diasporas.

The US has announced it will not sell Taiwan F-16C/Ds, but will upgrade its F-16A/Bs. Taiwan’s fighter jets are old, while the capabilities of China’s jets keep improving, expanding the gap between China’s and Taiwan’s air forces. The US arms package is like a short rain after a long drought — it won’t end the drought, but it will bring short-term relief. Taiwan may be unhappy about the deal, but must accept it.

The Ministry of National Defense (MND), the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Presidential Office and the Cabinet applauded the US’ decision. A pleased President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) tried to claim credit, saying the arms purchase budget since he took office has exceeded that of former president Lee Teng-hui’s (李登輝) 12 years in office and former president Chen Shui-bian’s (陳水扁) eight years in office. He also said this proves he has done more to improve the military’s war preparedness than Lee and Chen together.