Deterring China’s $5 Trillion Blockade of Taiwan

Deterring China’s $5 Trillion Blockade of Taiwan
Taiwan President Lai Ching-te (C) and Defense Minister Wellington Koo arrive on a visit to inspect military troops in Taoyuan, Taiwan, on May 23, 2024. Sam Yeh/AFP via Getty Images
Anders Corr
Updated:
0:00
Commentary

The immediate damages to trade and industry caused by a blockade of Taiwan by communist China would far outweigh the cost of deterring such a blockade, not to mention the likely U.S.–China war that would follow. Yet deterrence is a certain and upfront cost, while a war is deferred and might never happen. This tempts some to ignore the future uncertain cost to avoid the certain current cost.

Anders Corr
Anders Corr
Author
Anders Corr has a bachelor's/master's in political science from Yale University (2001) and a doctorate in government from Harvard University (2008). He is a principal at Corr Analytics Inc. and publisher of the Journal of Political Risk, and has conducted extensive research in North America, Europe, and Asia. His latest books are “The Concentration of Power: Institutionalization, Hierarchy, and Hegemony” (2021) and “Great Powers, Grand Strategies: the New Game in the South China Sea" (2018).
twitter
Related Topics