The Diplomat recently highlighted the interest the U.S. has in Taiwan, and how the level of importance the island has to the Western giant contributes to the tension between Taiwan and China.
John Bolton, a U.S. Army officer, and Derik Zitelman, a policy analyst and strategist for Booz Allen Hamilton, said Taiwan accounts for $85 billon in trade with the U.S., making it the 10th largest trading partner. However, U.S. trade with China is upward of $635 billion, The Diplomat reported. Therefore, Taiwan is not as vital to the American economy.
With a population of nearly 23.5 million, the East Asian Island has now established diplomatic relations with 13 out of 193 UN member states, Wiki reports. The relations are considered an achievement by Taiwan, who has struggled to maintain relationships with other countries amid the ever-growing power of China, despite the efforts the U.S made to limit the impact with the derecognition of the Republic of China in 1979. China, however, still claims it does not recognize it as its own sovereignty.
The interests also derive from U.S. and Taiwan's similar perspectives regarding the People’s Republic of China's (PRC) techno-authoritarianism. China’s power of economy, military and relations threaten the interest of the U.S due to PRC differences, with China offering a non-Western model.
"Juxtaposed against the PRC’s techno-authoritarianism, Taiwan provides a proximate and culturally similar counterpoint to PRC propaganda, which depicts democracy as unable to deliver sustainable growth,” Bolton and Zitelman said, according to The Diplomat.
According to The Diplomat, Taiwan's $600 billion GDP, renown semi-conductor and high tech capability is a dangling carrot for the PRC. Controlling Taiwan, would give China control over its fifth-largest trading partner, The Diplomat reports.
Bolton and Zitelman said it is important that Taiwan retains its autonomous democracy to maintain the United State's trade in the region but mostly because it "the best political counterpoint to the PRC."
Having control over Taiwan would give the PRC an additional 150 nautical miles eastward to project its military capabilities, serving as a forward operating base for its air force and navy.
This year, the Taiwanese population was allowed to participate in the Olympics under the name, “Chinese Taipei.” Despite not "enjoying the benefits of statehood," the Taiwanese population of 23 million were able to trade, travel and negotiate at the global event.
Though no signs of conflict have come to the surface lately, the U.S. remains vulnerable to discreditation on behalf of China, which can be potentially achieved by “skewing ‘global standards for trade and investment in its favor to the disadvantage of its competitors.’”