Why Taiwan?: Geostrategic Rationales for China's Territorial Integrity (Studies in Asian Security) - Softcover

Wachman, Alan M.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 080475554X ISBN 13: 9780804755542

Publisher: Stanford University Press, 2007

Synopsis

Why has the PRC been so determined that Taiwan be part of China? Why, since the 1990s, has Beijing been feverishly developing means to prevail in combat with the U.S. over Taiwan's status? Why is Taiwan worth fighting for? To answer, this book focuses on the territorial dimension of the Taiwan issue and highlights arguments made by PRC analysts about the geostrategic significance of Taiwan, rather than emphasizing the political dispute between Beijing and Taipei. It considers Beijing's quest for Taiwan since 1949 against the backdrop of recurring Chinese anxieties about the island's status since the seventeenth century.

In recent years, the PRC has become dependent on international maritime commerce and has undertaken to expand considerably its navy to ensure access to the sea. PRC analysts concerned about strategy have articulated rationales for eliminating rival influences over Taiwan, the location of which is deemed as critical to China's projection of naval power. This book traces the evolution, explains the appeal, and suggests implications of the geostrategic calculations that pervade PRC strategic considerations of Taiwan.

About this title

About the Author

Alan M. Wachman is Associate Professor of International Politics at Tufts University. He is the author of Taiwan: National Identity and Democratization (1994), as well as chapters in multiauthored texts and journal articles pertaining to Sino-U.S. Relations, Taiwan, and cross-Strait relations.

From the Back Cover

Why has the PRC been so determined that Taiwan be part of China? Why, since the 1990s, has Beijing been feverishly developing means to prevail in combat with the U.S. over Taiwan's status? Why is Taiwan worth fighting for? To answer, this book focuses on the territorial dimension of the Taiwan issue and highlights arguments made by PRC analysts about the geostrategic significance of Taiwan, rather than emphasizing the political dispute between Beijing and Taipei. It considers Beijing's quest for Taiwan since 1949 against the backdrop of recurring Chinese anxieties about the island's status since the seventeenth century
In recent years, the PRC has become dependent on international maritime commerce and has undertaken to expand considerably its navy to ensure access to the sea. PRC analysts concerned about strategy have articulated rationales for eliminating rival influences over Taiwan, the location of which is deemed as critical to China's projection of naval power. This book traces the evolution, explains the appeal, and suggests implications of the geostrategic calculations that pervade PRC strategic considerations of Taiwan.

Edition details

• Publisher: Stanford University Press
• Publication date: 2007
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 080475554X
• ISBN 13: 9780804755542
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 272