China May Impose an ‘Economic Blockade’ on Taiwan to Force Submission: Experts

Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen (C) attends an inauguration ceremony of a Ta Chiang Corvette at a navy base in Yilan on Sept. 9, 2021. Sam Yeh/AFP via Getty Images

The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has ramped up its threats to Taiwan as the United States reportedly considers a measure favorable to the self-ruled island claimed by Beijing.

The Financial Times recently reported that the Biden administration is “seriously considering” allowing the island to change the name of its de facto embassy in Washington to include the “Taiwan.” The office is currently called the “Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office.” The report prompted Global Times, a hawkish newspaper controlled by the CCP, to publish an editorial charged with threats of economic and military action against the small East Asian island.

A Feasible Economic Threat

The Epoch Times spoke to Michael E. O'Hanlon about the plausibility of these types of threats coming to fruition in the near future. The senior fellow and director of research in foreign policy at Washington-based think tank Brookings Institution said he considers an “economic blockade” to be the most feasible action to be taken against Taiwan—and the repercussions could be enough to cripple the small island. By definition, an economic blockade involves the intentional disruption of a country’s economy.