Taiwan Is Not Like Berlin

It should be obvious that a massive military buildup will lead to heightened tensions and bring about a new crisis in the Strait.

Dmitri Alperovitch offers up some dangerous ideas for what the U.S. should do about Taiwan:

Ultimately, there can be no détente with China without the creation of a figurative “wall” across the Taiwan Strait. This would require the United States to position significant munitions—anti-ship missiles, mines, coastal and air defense batteries throughout the region and on Taiwan itself—enough to convince China that any attempt to take the island would prove futile.

There are important differences between Taiwan and Cold War West Berlin that undermine Alperovitch’s entire argument. Perhaps the most obvious difference is that the Chinese government regards Taiwan as part of their country. That invests the issue with far greater significance than West Berlin could have ever had for the Soviets. The U.S. and China benefited from détente for four decades without creating a “wall” of weapons between Taiwan and the mainland. It should be obvious that a massive military buildup will lead to heightened tensions and bring about a new crisis in the Strait.