As China’s provocative military activity towards Taiwan has continued to surge over the past year, the United States and its allies and partners in the Indo-Pacific are increasingly exploring options for addressing regional tensions through multilateral regional security frameworks, such as the Quad and AUKUS. Taiwan’s Foreign Minister Joseph Wu has welcomed the AUKUS pact as a critical balance against China’s military ambitions, stating that “we are pleased to see that the like-minded partners of Taiwan are working closer with each other to acquire more advanced defense articles so that we can defend the Indo-Pacific”. In addition, senior officials from the United States, Japan, India, and Australia have also recently held discussions through the Quad framework on the importance of maintaining peace and security in the Taiwan Strait.
These developments present key questions for the United States and its allies and partners: How do US strategic interests in the Indo-Pacific align with Taiwan’s national security strategy? What challenges do cross-strait tensions present for the US and its allies and partners in the region, and how should that shape multilateral efforts to discourage China from aggressive military action towards Taiwan in the future? Ultimately, as tensions in the Taiwan Strait continue to evolve into a multilateral issue for countries throughout the region, what steps should the US and its allies and partners take to enhance regional security in the Indo-Pacific?
Enhancing regional security in the Indo-Pacific – Atlantic Council
