Re: Footnote 2, what do you recommend as the best writing on how to defend Taiwan's democracy that is least in conflict with your outlook? I will also just check the index of Rivalry Peril at some point and trust there are references there. As someone that considers maintaining the democratic character of Taiwan to be quite important but also compatible with maintaining the one China policy, your argument for mutual vulnerability would be more compelling if there was a belt and suspenders approach to Taiwan's military capabilities that would keep the military reunification option unappealing in addition to a larger mutual vulnerability approach.
I get the sense that said belt and suspenders approach is not your preferred one, hence the "not necessarily" language, but who do you think is strongest among the *actively assist of Taiwan under one China policy* progressives, even if you're not endorsing their view?
Greg: I am an advocate of “confidence-building defense” structures. There exists a large body of work on principles and specification of systems and organization of such defenses. (Available at https://comw.org/pda/) A principle I hold to is that the particulars must be decided by the nation adopting this military posture. Most effective in avoiding provocation of aggression if said nation is non-aligned. Friendly nations can contribute to building out defenses of Taiwan as long as they refrain from attempting to integrate Taiwan into their alliances or war plans. ~ Charles Knight
I can see how there may be a difference between Taiwanese led munition stockpiling under their control and say an advanced radar facility that increases integration with US C2 networks.
I appreciate the link and the concept for collective defense with nations that are not allies.
Re: Footnote 2, what do you recommend as the best writing on how to defend Taiwan's democracy that is least in conflict with your outlook? I will also just check the index of Rivalry Peril at some point and trust there are references there. As someone that considers maintaining the democratic character of Taiwan to be quite important but also compatible with maintaining the one China policy, your argument for mutual vulnerability would be more compelling if there was a belt and suspenders approach to Taiwan's military capabilities that would keep the military reunification option unappealing in addition to a larger mutual vulnerability approach.
I get the sense that said belt and suspenders approach is not your preferred one, hence the "not necessarily" language, but who do you think is strongest among the *actively assist of Taiwan under one China policy* progressives, even if you're not endorsing their view?
Greg: I am an advocate of “confidence-building defense” structures. There exists a large body of work on principles and specification of systems and organization of such defenses. (Available at https://comw.org/pda/) A principle I hold to is that the particulars must be decided by the nation adopting this military posture. Most effective in avoiding provocation of aggression if said nation is non-aligned. Friendly nations can contribute to building out defenses of Taiwan as long as they refrain from attempting to integrate Taiwan into their alliances or war plans. ~ Charles Knight
Thanks Charles.
I can see how there may be a difference between Taiwanese led munition stockpiling under their control and say an advanced radar facility that increases integration with US C2 networks.
I appreciate the link and the concept for collective defense with nations that are not allies.