The US is solely responsible for endangering peace with its provocative Taiwan policy

By Hamzah Rifaat Hussain

The myth of the United States being a promoter of peace in the Asia Pacific has been busted once again as a Congressional visit of Senator Bob Menendez and Lindsey Graham took place in China's Taiwan. The hawkish statements made amid a backdrop of military build ups and aggressive rhetoric has exposed America's hegemonic behavior, geopolitical power play and lack of respect for international law and ensuing escalation or a breakdown in peace will always be directly linked to Washington's policy making.

The truth is that the Joe Biden administration simply won't relent in demonizing China or sidestepping principles tied to the latter’s national security. Whether it is through informal security-oriented dialogues such as the Quad or nuclearizing the Asia Pacific by forging partnerships with the United Kingdom and Australia, America has continued its relentless quest, compelling the receiving state to respond preemptively. 

Note that this visit to Taiwan region was unannounced and is part of a string of tours by American officials which constitute clear violations of previous commitments made to uphold Chinese sovereignty. 

Coupled with this fact is the systematic militarization of the region in the form of American missile ships navigating through the Taiwan Straits which run contrary to purported aims of securing freedom of navigation. The cold war mentality was on full display as Republican Senator Lindsey Graham told Tsai Ing-wen that the war in Ukraine has united U.S. opinion. All this points to American geopolitical power play against China and nothing else.

By building analogies between Ukraine and China's Taiwan and sidelining variables such as geographical contiguity, the United States is veiling actual intention which is to promote secessionism on Chinese territory through weaponization of both rhetoric and practice. 

Note further that the U.S. Senate in 2021 sought to secure Taiwan's access as an observer to the World Health Organization during the COVID-19 pandemic with Senator Menendez at the time claiming that the United States would defend Taiwan's place on the international stage. Arms sales to Taiwan have also increased exponentially under both the Donald Trump and the Biden administration with the latest Raytheon Patriot Tech Assistance Deal amounting to $95 million alone. 

Additionally, guided-missile destroyers such as the USS Ralph Johnson sailing through the Taiwan Straits were a feature of 2022, yet Washington presents its maneuvers as a defense tactic against China. The truth is that aggressive posturing with nefarious designs can never be considered defensive tactics. 

Photo taken on July 21, 2019 from Xiangshan Mountain shows the Taipei 101 skyscraper in Taipei, China's Taiwan. [Photo/Xinhua]

In light of this, the Chinese Defense Ministry's statement which considered this visit as provocative is based on fact. Sovereign states have the right to exercise measures in self-defense if their territories are breached, and in this case any measure which prevents the peaceful reunification is an existential threat. Self-defense becomes increasingly relevant given that references were made to Taiwan as a country which is a negation of its status as Chinese territory and again equates to promoting secessionism as conveyed by Senator Menendez to Tsai Ing-wen. 

There should be no doubt about the intentions of the officials either given that Menendez was one of the lawmakers that introduced a bill in February 2022 which sought to rename Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in Washington D.C. as the Taiwan Representative Office. Such steps mirror Lithuania's previous decision to allow Taiwan to use its own name for a representative office which constituted a provocation and was dealt with befittingly.

The question is whether such unequivocal statements, policies and maneuvers should be tolerated by the receiving country, especially one which has repeatedly witnessed its territory being breached. Such provocations warrant a befitting response and China has every right to defend its territory from political engineering, controversial doctrines and militarization which has been a feature of American foreign policy.

The author is a former visiting fellow at the Stimson Center in Washington and former assistant researcher at the Islamabad Policy Research Institute.