China and Taiwan in american foreign policy Essay

China and Taiwan in american foreign policy - Essay Example This was not to be, as the confrontation across the Straits of Taiwan has demonstrated. Since political ideology of communism and democracy are no longer a major constraint in the development of amicable relations between America and China, analysis of events in the relations between America and China point to Taiwan as being the stumbling block. Overview of Taiwan in American Foreign Policy: Taiwan has been the major irritant between China and the United States of America for decades. American foreign policy in the far-east is the reason for the continued existence of Taiwan as a separate entity to this day. Taiwan became a separate entity from mainland China in 1949, when the Kuomintang under Chiang Kai-shek was defeated by the communist forces and retreated to Taiwan, which was then called Formosa, to set up the government of the Republic of China, independent of mainland China. The communist forces under Mao Zedong attempted to take back Taiwan but were unsuccessful. In the mean time America decided to throw its weight behind the independent existence of Taiwan. This decision was based on the need to contain the growth of communism, and Taiwan provided the means to demonstrate America’s will in this direction. Taiwan was also strategically important, as it provided America with a platform for resisting the growth of communism in the Far East. For China, Taiwan and its independent existence has always been an emotional reminder of the past humiliations China has undergone from the West, which it would like to forget. Besides emotional reasons there are two valid concerns for China. Taiwan is a hindrance for it assuming the role of a major world power it has the potential to be and wants to be, is the first. The second is the security threat that Taiwan poses. The hostile attitude of Taiwan coupled with an American foreign policy unfavorable to China makes Taiwan a security threat due to its proximity to the mainland, as it can be used as a platform for many kinds of attacks. China would like to take control of Taiwan outright, but is gradually veering around to the reality that this would not be possible, and so China would be willing for a reunification with Taiwan, on the lines of its successful reunification with Hong Kong in. Taiwan is not keen on it, and would like to maintain its independence, which it stresses from time to time through its actions. America supports this view of Taiwan, and aims to prevent China pressurizing Taiwan into union with the mainland. From this stems the difficul ties witnessed in the relationship between America and China. (Jakobson, 2005). Post Cold War American Foreign Policy in East Asia: The American foreign policy with regard to Taiwan and China has seen periods of wide swings. From the 1970s onwards American foreign policy was tilted towards a sobering influence between China and Taiwan, which went to the extent of reassuring China that America would reduce its military assistance to Taiwan in 1982. A decade later this pacifist trend was to reverse. The Bush administration in 1992 sold 150 F-16 war planes to Taiwan in spite of protests from China. The Clinton administration in 1994 upgraded the protocol rules for Taiwanese diplomats, and the following year provided a visa for senior Taiwanese leader Lee Teng-hui to visit America, disregarding diplomatic precedents. These were acts that were read