Strategic Ambiguity Approach Towards Taiwan No Longer Relevant: Cybersecurity Expert

A Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy J-11 fighter pilot performs an unsafe maneuver during an intercept of a U.S. Air Force RC-135 aircraft, which was lawfully conducting routine operations over the South China Sea in international airspace, on Dec. 21, 2022, in a still from video. (Courtesy of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command/Screenshot via The Epoch Times)

The strategic ambiguity approach towards Taiwan is no longer relevant, according to John Mills, former director of cybersecurity policy, strategy, and international affairs at the Department of Defense.

The Chinese regime considers Taiwan to be part of its territory to be taken by force if necessary. Washington, under a policy known as strategic ambiguity, is deliberately vague on whether it would come to the defense of the island in the event of a Chinese attack. But the United States is bound to provide Taiwan with the means to defend itself under the Taiwan Relations Act.

Mills referred to a recent remark by Chinese State Councilor and Defense Minister Gen. Li Shangfu.

Li said China’s military will attack “without any hesitation” any nation that dares to separate it from Taiwan. The comments were made in a speech on “China’s New Security Initiative” at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore over the weekend.

The U.S. Indo-Pacific Command recently accused the Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy of engaging in dangerous naval maneuvers on June 3 during an intercept of the American destroyer USS Chung-Hoon in the Taiwan Strait.

According to the U.S. military, the Chung-Hoon was conducting “a routine south to north Taiwan Strait transit” alongside the Canadian frigate HMCS Montréal when the incident occurred.

It stated that a Chinese warship overtook the Chung-Hoon and crossed its bow at a distance of 150 yards, forcing the U.S. vessel to reduce its speed to avoid a collision.

“The [Chinese vessel] LY 132’s closest point of approach was 150 yards, and its actions violated the maritime ‘Rules of the Road’ of safe passage in international waters,” U.S. Indo-Pacific Command stated.

In another incident, a Chinese fighter jet aggressively intercepted a U.S. aircraft last month, risking the lives of its crew and escalating tensions between the two nations.

A J-16 fighter pilot “performed an unnecessarily aggressive maneuver” against a U.S. RC-135 reconnaissance plane on May 26, according to a statement released by U.S. military officials on May 30.

Indo-Pacific Command released a video of the incident, in which the Chinese pilot aggressively cuts across the nose of the U.S. aircraft, forcing it to fly through the smaller plane’s turbulence.

Crystal Clear

According to Mills, with the new moves, China has made clear its intention of using force against Taiwan.

“Right now, China is being crystal clear on what they want. The age of strategic ambiguity is over. And it was over a while ago. That only works when you have decisive, overwhelming force. The Chinese know we don’t have overwhelming force anymore. So I think it’s a dangerous game the Biden team plays when they try to be sophisticated and use rote and aged concepts of diplomacy with regards to China and Taiwan,” Mills said in an interview with NTD.

The United States needs to “start being crystal clear and telling China, ‘No invasion, no coercion.’ They must respect the sovereignty of Taiwan. Now, that doesn’t mean that we’re declaring Taiwan independent. … We never use the word independence there. But we must be absolutely crystal clear, ‘No forced reunification, no coercion, no influence operations, no funding of the opposition in the upcoming election in Taiwan, none of that,” said Mills, who is also a contributor to the Epoch Times.

Military Capabilities

Mills singled out the strong statements of support for Taiwan incorporated in the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for FY23.

The bill authorizes up to $10 billion in security assistance over the next five years to modernize Taiwan’s security capabilities to deter and, if necessary, defeat aggression by the People’s Republic of China. The bill also requires a whole-of-government strategy to counter Chinese influence campaigns and economic coercion targeting Taiwan and countries that support Taiwan.

“We must be clear and demonstrative about military capabilities,” he said.

The expert pointed to the arms deal of 108 General Dynamics M1A2 Abrams tanks, 2 of which were reportedly delivered to the island in mid 2022.

“We should be doing joint U.S. training. And we should articulate that all we’re doing is training the Taiwanese on how to operate the M1 tank. We should be sending U.S. tank teams from U.S. armored units to Taiwan with full media,” he said.

The Chinese Communist Party has “shown they cannot live in the world without controlling things and without being the premier unchallenged power in the center of the universe. That is the way they are. It is just inescapable, unstoppable, irrefutable. That is how the Chinese Communist Party leads China. They have to be the single unassailable power in the world. And as long as the United States is here, we are in their way,” Mills said.

Melanie Sun, Andrew Thornebrooke, and Katabella Roberts contributed to this report.