Washington should stop beating the war drums over Taiwan

NOT a week goes by these days without a politician or a pundit in Washington warning of, and in some cases threatening, a war between the United States and China over Taiwan. At times it sounds as though a military confrontation is almost inevitable.

In a statement heard loud and clear over the Pacific, the outgoing commander of US forces in the Indo-Pacific region, Navy Admiral Philip Davidson told US lawmakers in March that he believed China would attempt to take over Taiwan within the next few years. That view was echoed a few days later by his successor, Navy Admiral John Aquilino, who ominously told members of the Senate: "The problem is much closer to us than most of us think."

Hence talk about the need to reassess the diplomatic status-quo over Taiwan is swirling on Capitol Hill and in Washington's think tanks, with many Democrats and Republicans calling on President Joe Biden to establish full diplomatic relations with Taipei. In response, Chinese officials are threatening to possibly take military action if the US moves in that direction. In recent weeks, China sent 25 warplanes through Taiwan's airspace while a Chinese aircraft carrier conducted large naval exercises near the island.