Taiwan Is Not Worth It

There has been quite a bit of talk about the issue of China and Taiwan and whether or not the United States and other nations would come to the defense of Taiwan. I can say with conviction that under no circumstances do I think we should defend Taiwan. It simply is not worth the cost in lives and damage to our economy. Let me expand upon my opinion and give a few reasons for it.

China has thrown down the gauntlet with passage of a law forbidding Taiwan from declaring independence. In fact the Chinese government has even suggested that Australia and New Zealand rethink their Anzus alliance which provides for Australia and New Zealand to aid the United States in the defense of Taiwan. Quite a bold move after many years of quietly building up the Chinese military with the intention of a future invasion, which Taiwan continues to prepare for. Now we have news that the Taiwan people plan a rally to protest the anti-secession law passed by China earlier this week. Hopefully this is all a bunch of old-fashioned saber-rattling. But in case it’s not, read on for my reasons against defending Taiwan.

The main reason that I believe that we should not go to work over Taiwan is the danger a military conflict poses to the economic health of this country. China is our fourth largest trading partner and holds countless millions in American debt. Certainly the trade imbalance will continue to serve as a sore spot in Sino-America relations for years to come but compared against a full-blown military conflict over what is ostensibly a Chinese possession the decision in my mind is easy. One of the reasons that we were able to recover from the 9/11 induced recession so quickly was the billions in US dollars that the Chinese were forced to purchase since there currency is pegged to the dollar.

I have every confidence in the United State military that if called they could clean the floor with the Chinese. Even after the billions of dollars that the Chinese have spent on modernizing their military, their only real advantage is numbers. Funny I seem to recall another communist nation (USSR) with the same plan and that did not work out too well for them. The United States Military is the most advanced in the world and has no equal in fighting skills.

Simply put the Chinese have much more to lose from a conflict with Taiwan, the United States, Japan, and Australia then they will ever let on. I think that even the UN would come out against any Chinese action against Taiwan, not that it would do any good. The United States economy could not withstand the Chinese calling in our debt if they decided to. The simple fact is that we must rethink our defense pact with Taiwan and consider the consequences. Would our interference in an internal Chinese issue be worth the lives lost and the crippling effect it would have on our economy? Let me know if you agree or disagree. Have a great day everyone.