Geostrategy in Taiwan refers to the

foreign relations of Taiwan Foreign relations of Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), are accomplished by efforts of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, a cabinet-level ministry of the central government. the ROC has formal diplomatic relations with 11 of th ...

in the context of the

geography of Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The island of Taiwan, formerly known to Westerners as Formosa, has an area of and makes up 99% of the land under ROC control. It lies about across the Taiwan Strait ...

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

is an

island country An island country, island state, or island nation is a country whose primary territory consists of one or more islands or parts of islands. Approximately 25% of all independent countries are island countries. Island countries are historically ...

East Asia East Asia is a geocultural region of Asia. It includes China, Japan, Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea, and Taiwan, plus two special administrative regions of China, Hong Kong and Macau. The economies of Economy of China, China, Economy of Ja ...

, while it is also located at the center of the first island chain and commands the busy traffic of

Taiwan Strait The Taiwan Strait is a strait separating the island of Taiwan and the Asian continent. The strait is part of the South China Sea and connects to the East China Sea to the north. The narrowest part is wide. Names Former names of the Tai ...

and Bashi Channel.

History

In 1683 the

Qing dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing, was a Manchu-led Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China and an early modern empire in East Asia. The last imperial dynasty in Chinese history, the Qing dynasty was preceded by the ...

Kangxi Emperor The Kangxi Emperor (4 May 165420 December 1722), also known by his temple name Emperor Shengzu of Qing, personal name Xuanye, was the third emperor of the Qing dynasty, and the second Qing emperor to rule over China proper. His reign of 61 ...

commented on the strategic value of Taiwan, saying ''"Taiwan is nothing but a tiny island. The empire earns nothing with it and loses nothing without it."'' After the

Sino-French War The Sino-French or Franco-Chinese War, also known as the Tonkin War, was a limited conflict fought from August 1884 to April 1885 between the French Third Republic and Qing China for influence in Vietnam. There was no declaration of war. The C ...

of 1884–1885, the Qing dynasty started to notice the strategic importance of Taiwan. After the

First Sino-Japanese War The First Sino-Japanese War (25 July 189417 April 1895), or the First China–Japan War, was a conflict between the Qing dynasty of China and the Empire of Japan primarily over influence in Joseon, Korea. In Chinese it is commonly known as th ...

of 1894–1895, the Qing dynasty yielded the sovereignty of Taiwan to Japan by

Treaty of Shimonoseki The , also known as the Treaty of Maguan () in China or the in Japan, was signed at the hotel in Shimonoseki, Japan, on April 17, 1895, between the Empire of Japan and Qing China. It was a treaty that ended the First Sino-Japanese War, ...

, which is opposed by

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

n, French and

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

, who also have interests in taking over Taiwan island, but in vain. Taiwan has gone from a natural barrier of Qing dynasty to

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

's bridgehead of expansion after Japan acquiring

Ryukyu Islands The , also known as the or the , are a chain of Japanese islands that stretch southwest from Kyushu to Geography of Taiwan, Taiwan: the Ryukyu Islands are divided into the Satsunan Islands (Ōsumi Islands, Ōsumi, Tokara Islands, Tokara and A ...

. In the scope of a larger geostrategic picture, Taiwan is also located in the rimland of the ''East Asia inner sea'', the so-called ''Asiatic Mediterranean'', which is described by Nicholas John Spykman's book, ''The Geography of the Peace (1944)'', as

Formosa Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The island of Taiwan, formerly known to Westerners as Formosa, has an area of and makes up 99% of the land under ROC control. It lies about across the Taiwan Strait f ...

. Spykman provided the insight that it is the rimland that the real struggle for mastery has taken place since the great naval battle in Asia-Pacific ocean during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

happened largely in the inner sea.

Halford John Mackinder Sir Halford John Mackinder (15 February 1861 – 6 March 1947) was a British geographer, academic and politician, who is regarded as one of the founding fathers of both geopolitics and geostrategy. He was the first Principal of University Exte ...

also modified his earlier

Heartland Theory "The Geographical Pivot of History" is an article submitted by Halford John Mackinder in 1904 to the Royal Geographical Society that advances his heartland theory.Mackinder, H. J."The Geographical Pivot of History" ''The Geographical Journal'', ...

and published an article ''The round world and the winning of the peace'' in 1943

Foreign Affairs ''Foreign Affairs'' is an American magazine of international relations and foreign policy of the United States, U.S. foreign policy published by the Council on Foreign Relations, a nonprofit organization, nonprofit, nonpartisan, membership or ...

to emphasize the importance of rimlands and marginal seas. The

Third Taiwan Strait Crisis The Third Taiwan Strait Crisis, also called the 1995–1996 Taiwan Strait Crisis, or the 1996 Taiwan Strait Crisis, was the effect of a series of missile tests conducted by the People's Republic of China (PRC) in the waters surrounding Taiwan, ...

in 1996 and the

1997 Asian financial crisis The 1997 Asian financial crisis gripped much of East Asia, East and Southeast Asia during the late 1990s. The crisis began in Thailand in July 1997 before spreading to several other countries with a ripple effect, raising fears of a worldwide eco ...

show that the safety, security and stability of Taiwan does affect the steadiness of the East Asia region.

Values

After political transition from one party

authoritarian Authoritarianism is a political system characterized by the rejection of political plurality, the use of strong central power to preserve the political ''status quo'', and reductions in democracy, separation of powers, civil liberties, and ...

to modern

democracy Democracy (from , ''dēmos'' 'people' and ''kratos'' 'rule') is a form of government in which political power is vested in the people or the population of a state. Under a minimalist definition of democracy, rulers are elected through competitiv ...

, there are now multiple parties participating in competitive campaigns in local and national elections in Taiwan, including but not limited to municipal

mayors In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

and the president of Taiwan. The economy of Taiwan is highly dependent on foreign trade utilizing the sea lane.

International Environmental Partnership

In April 2014, the was founded in Taipei, Taiwan by Environmental Protection Administration Taiwan, with founding partner from U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to address the following environmental challenges: * expanding mercury monitoring * air quality protection * managing

electronic waste Electronic waste (or e-waste) describes discarded electrical or electronics, electronic devices. It is also commonly known as waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) or end-of-life (EOL) electronics. Used electronics which are destined ...

* establish eco-campus school partnership between U.S. and Taiwan * support Global Environmental Education Partnership

Global Cooperation and Training Framework

is held by American Institute in Taiwan and for broader U.S.-Taiwan cooperation, which allow Taiwan to engage in the

Asia Pacific Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...

region and the world with the United States. The GCTF cooperation address issues on international humanitarian assistance,

public health Public health is "the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health through the organized efforts and informed choices of society, organizations, public and private, communities and individuals". Analyzing the de ...

environmental protection Environmental protection, or environment protection, refers to the taking of measures to protecting the natural environment, prevent pollution and maintain ecological balance. Action may be taken by individuals, advocacy groups and governments. ...

energy Energy () is the physical quantity, quantitative physical property, property that is transferred to a physical body, body or to a physical system, recognizable in the performance of Work (thermodynamics), work and in the form of heat and l ...

technology Technology is the application of Conceptual model, conceptual knowledge to achieve practical goals, especially in a reproducible way. The word ''technology'' can also mean the products resulting from such efforts, including both tangible too ...

education Education is the transmission of knowledge and skills and the development of character traits. Formal education occurs within a structured institutional framework, such as public schools, following a curriculum. Non-formal education als ...

and regional development. The Framework is a milestone for Taiwan to transform from an international aid recipient to an aid provider.

Technology

American Institute in Taiwan cohost with Japan to open GCTF on Network Security and emerging technologies, which is a multilateral platform for Taiwan to cooperate with Japan, Chile, Mexico,

Federal Communications Commission The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent agency of the United States government that regulates communications by radio, television, wire, internet, wi-fi, satellite, and cable across the United States. The FCC maintains j ...

and

United States Department of Homeland Security The United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is the U.S. United States federal executive departments, federal executive department responsible for public security, roughly comparable to the Interior minister, interior, Home Secretary ...

experts and law enforcements, including endorsing the Prague Proposal of 5G network security.

Democracy

American Institute in Taiwan cohost with

Taiwan Foundation for Democracy The Taiwan Foundation for Democracy (TFD; ) is a non-partisan non-profit organisation headquartered in Taipei. The foundation, established in June 2003, is both initiated and funded by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of China. It ...

to open GCTF on ''Defending Democracy through Media Literacy''. National Security Strategy (United States) describes a geopolitical competition between free and repressive visions of governance is being played out in Taiwan and United States. There are foreign actors using social media to interfere elections in United States. Taiwan is also on the frontlines to marshal academic, policy, and technical resources to confront external pressures. Second GCTF on media literacy discuss the implementation of media literacy education in curriculums and how governments and private enterprises can cooperate to combat disinformation, among other challenges.

Challenges

Modern China's attitude towards Taiwan also reflects the need for China to compete with the United States in terms of security. To

People's Liberation Army Navy The People's Liberation Army Navy, also known as the People's Navy, PLA Navy or simply Chinese Navy, is the naval warfare military branch, branch of the People's Liberation Army, the national military of the People's Republic of China. It i ...

's naval planners the control of Taiwan has strategic value as a gateway to the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five Borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is ...

. According to Yuan-kang Wang Taiwan should synchronize security interests with the United States in current context, including President Obama's Asia rebalancing strategy and President Trump's "free and open Indo-Pacific" strategy. The minimum defense requirement for Taiwan is to withstand the first wave of PRC attack before the U.S. assistance. It is also critical for Taiwan to build a consensus on how to deal with China.

References

{{authority control Cross-strait relations Geopolitics Strategy Foreign relations of Taiwan