Professor Greitens Discusses Rising Tension between China and Taiwan

Sheena Chestnut Greitens, founding director of the Asia Policy Program and Associate Professor of Public Affairs at the LBJ School, discussed the rising tensions between China and Taiwan, and the United States’ role in the cross-strait relations. Professor Greitens explained that Taiwan is the unfinished business of the Chinese Civil War that brought the Chinese Communist Party to power. Greitens indicated that the official policy of the United States toward Taiwan is that its status is undetermined but that the US has always stressed its commitment to a peaceful resolution and is obligated under the Taiwan Relations Act to provide arms for Taiwan’s defense.  She addressed increasing concerns that China will use its growing military and economic power to coercively alter Taiwan’s status and discussed the risk that Taiwan could become a flashpoint for a superpower conflict between China and the United States, two nuclear-armed countries.

You can listen to the full interview here. Transcript included.