U.S Strategies in Maintaining Peace across the Taiwan Strait

Abstract

The US. strategy of ”creative ambiguity” regarding the American response to potential military conflict between the PRC and Taiwan has helped to maintain peace across the Taiwan Strait for many years. This strategy is associated with Washington s traditional policy of ”dual deterrence and dual reassurance, ”designed to prevent any unilateral change in the status quo that might be initiated by Taipei`s movement toward de jure independence or a military attack on the island by Beijing. Taiwan`s progress toward political democratization since the mid-1980s, however; has created a Taiwanese identity on the island and increased the likelihood of a war between the PRC and Taiwan. As political tension across the Taiwan Strait has heightened in recent years, calls are growing in US. academic and policy circles for a subtle shift from strategic ambiguity toward strategic ”double clarity,” a feature of which would be a conditional commitment to Taiwan`s security. However; this policy option has not yet been accepted by policymakers in the United States.