Written by Brian Hioe. US PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP alarmed earlier this month after comments suggesting that he would decide whether to suspend arms sales to Taiwan after meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in April.
Tag: US-Taiwan relations
The New NSS’s Contradictions Towards Taiwan
Written by Baosheng Guo. This article highlights four contradictions in the US’s 2025 National Security Strategy, including the tension between defending Taiwan and the Retrenchment strategy toward China, burden-sharing exceeding allies’ tolerance, aligning allies’ actions with US interests, and maintaining American soft power while abandoning Taiwan’s democratic values.
US-Taiwan Relations 2025 Review and 2026 Outlook
Written by Chieh-Ting Yeh. This article reviews an eventful year of 2025 in Taiwan-US relations. Defence and trade continue to be the most important issues of the bilateral relationship under the Trump administration. It argues that the narrative surrounding it is fundamentally reactive and does not inspire hope or action. We need a more robust, imaginative, positive, optimistic, uplifting, inspiring, forward-looking, and hopeful narrative for US-Taiwan relations.
US-Taiwan relations in 2025; It sure was a turbulent year.
Written by Gerrit van der Wees. This article suggests that Taiwan-US relations in 2025 were turbulent. The year was marked by contradictory presidential statements, unprecedented congressional activism, and the codification of Taiwan’s strategic importance in U.S. defence and security planning. The latest PLA military exercise indicates that 2026 will be even more turbulent.
Distant Allies? Explaining U.S. Allies’ (In)action Over the Prospect of a Taiwan Strait Contingency
Written by Carlos Francisco Torres Morales. Using an alliance framework, this commentary argues that Tokyo and Seoul’s reluctance to convey support to Taipei publicly stems from strategic caution, since this could provoke the undesired effects they would seek to deter by extending clear security assurances, but also to retain flexibility in their redefining their stances vis-à-vis Taiwan (and China).
Beyond Deterrence: Reclaiming Dialogue in the Taiwan Strait
Written by Meng Kit Tang. As tensions rise in the Taiwan Strait, military deterrence has become the dominant narrative. This article argues that renewed dialogue, economic pragmatism, and people-to-people exchanges are equally vital for long-term stability. Drawing on historical precedents and current developments, it outlines practical pathways to reduce risks and rebuild trust.