How Beijing’s sabre-rattling is fuelling US doubts over commitment to peaceful reunification with Taiwan

Washington believes Beijing is leaning towards the stick rather than the carrot because of its increasingly tough stance, analysts warn

Growing gulf between public opinion in Taiwan and mainland China may also be fuelling these concerns

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The PLA has conducted frequent air and sea operations around Taiwan. Photo: EPA-EFE

Published: 12:00pm, 17 Jun 2023Updated: 9:10pm, 17 Jun 2023

Beijing is struggling to convince the United States and its allies that its commitment to peaceful reunification with Taiwan is genuine, as a result of its assertive posture towards the island and the widening gap between public opinion on both sides of the strait, analysts have warned.

US politicians and defence officials have expressed increasing concern about the possibility that the Chinese mainland will take military action against the island, possibly within the next few years.

“China’s announcements of policy consistency have failed to convince the United States that China’s actual policy considerations have not undergone major changes,” Zhao Tong, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, said.

He said that from a US perspective there had been major changes in Beijing’s approach in recent years, with a greater emphasis on the “stick” rather than the “carrot”.

“For example, China’s previous official policy promised to let Taiwan retain its own military after reunification, but this commitment was withdrawn in its most recent statement,” Zhao said.

Wang Jianmin, a senior cross-strait specialist at Minnan Normal University in Fujian province, echoed those comments.

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