By William Hetherington / Staff reporterA report published on Tuesday by US-based China academics advises US President Donald Trump’s administration to assist Taiwan’s capability in asymmetrical warfare while taking a balanced approach to China that pressures Beijing on harmful conduct while remaining open to dialogue and cooperation. The report, titled Course Correction: Toward an Effective and Sustainable China Policy, was jointly written by Asia Society’s Center on US-China Relations and the 21st Century China Center at the University of California, San Diego. The peaceful resolution of Taiwan’s relationship to China must involve democratic decisionmaking by Taiwanese, failing which the US must have a military strategy in place to come to Taiwan’s aid in holding back China, the report says. As China would likely attempt a blockade of Taiwan during an armed conflict, the US should also “encourage Taiwan to develop deeper strategic reserves of key materials and to create better logistic linkages between smaller ports and population centers,” it says. The US must not neglect its version of the “one China” policy, but it must also prevent attempts at forcible “reunification,” which would destabilize the Taiwan Strait, the report says.

Source: Taipei Times February 13, 2019 15:56 UTC