Getting Beyond Taiwan? Chinese Foreign Policy and PLA Modernization

Key Points

Deeper rapprochement across the Taiwan Strait would remove a longstanding source of regional tension and the most likely source of war between the United States and China.
Cross-strait rapprochement would also lead to new frictions and new worries among regional countries and the United States that a China no longer focused on Taiwan will use its increased power to challenge their interests elsewhere in Asia.
Stabilizing the cross-strait political situation will free up resources previously devoted to military preparations for Taiwan contingencies and allow the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) to undertake new missions and reassess priorities.
The direction of PLA modernization can help alleviate or further exacerbate the concerns about a rising China that will become more powerful but also less constrained by Taiwan.

National Defense University Fort Lesley J. McNair Washington, DC 20319-5066
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