Taiwan, the US, and China:
Over Golden Week, China sent more than 150 fighter planes into airspace monitored by Taiwanese defense forces. The US continues to sell arms to Taiwan and has increased official visits and recognition of the island. China continues to warn that such actions are in violation of their absolute sovereignty of Taiwan. Are these old tensions flaring anew or new risks presaging conflict? Should Taiwan-allied countries, primarily the US, hedge against Chinese political and military influence over Taiwan, or are they exacerbating tensions?
About the speaker: Dr Shelley Rigger is the Brown Professor for Political Science at Davidson College in North Carolina, where she studies the effects of cross-strait economic interactions on Taiwan people’s perceptions of mainland China. A longtime China watcher and one of the global dons of Taiwan studies, she’s the author of Why Taiwan Matters: Small Island, Global Powerhouse (2011) as well as two books on Taiwan’s domestic politics. In June, her latest book, The Tiger Leading the Dragon: How Taiwan Propelled China’s Economic Rise, was published.