US 'protection' leaves Taiwan open to crisis and manipulation

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When four American senators landed in China's Taiwan region this week, separatists cheered the "solidarity" they think they share with the world's superpower. The pursuit of "democracy" has long been their explanation for such interactions.

But the rhetoric is only a façade for conniving calculations: While Taiwan’s Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) has embraced US interventions to advance its separatist agenda, Washington, on its part, is using the Taiwan question as a convenient tool in its strategic rivalry with Beijing. The real costs are being borne squarely by the 23 million people in Taiwan.

Relying on the US in the hope of advancing separatism is a delusion. Yet DPP leaders continue to sell this fantasy, portraying the senators' visit as proof of enduring "support." The irony is stark: The very "partnership" that claims to "protect" Taiwan will leave the island at the mercy of internal crisis and external manipulation.

Since assuming office, the DPP leadership has welcomed US arms sales, "defense" visits and intelligence exchanges. This time, a $40-billion special "defense" budget is at the core of the senators' Taiwan trip. Every weapon package from Washington and every "official" visit by American officials are hailed by the DPP leadership as a victory for "democracy."

But the reality is this: Interactions cannot guarantee security; they invite escalation. The more intensified the "official" interactions, and the more heavily armed Taiwan becomes, the more fragile the balance across the Strait grows. The result is a vicious cycle – US vendors push more deals, the DPP seeks more purchases, and cross-Strait relations deteriorate further.

For an island already facing rising living costs, wage stagnation, and economic uncertainty, funds that should strengthen healthcare, education, or innovation are instead being diverted to purchase high-priced arms that profit US contractors more than the people in Taiwan. The outcome is economic dependence disguised as deterrence, with the DPP sacrificing social welfare to fund a relationship that mainly benefits America's defense industry.

By keeping the DPP anxious about supposed threats from the Chinese mainland, the US is trying to sustain an endless demand for weapons and "defense." For US defense contractors like Raytheon, Lockheed Martin and others, the "threat" narrative ensures steady business. The rhetoric of "democracy" conveniently masks an industry-driven agenda, where the promise of "security" feeds the machinery of dependency.

The US administration has been shouting that it is "standing with Taiwan," but anyone with some political knowledge knows this is an empty slogan.

The US knows clearly that Taiwan is an inalienable part of China. This fact is enshrined not only in historical records but also in the very foundation of Beijing-Washington relations – the three joint communiques that affirm the one-China principle.

No foreign power, however strong, can rewrite this fundamental reality. The US cannot guarantee Taiwan's "security" without courting military conflicts, and the "America First" doctrine means when geopolitical winds shift or costs rise, Washington will abandon its partners.

The American policy toward Taiwan has never truly been about "democracy." It is about leverage – the ability to pressure Beijing, disrupt China's development, and project power into the Asia Pacific region.

John Bolton, a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, proposed playing the Taiwan card to "compel" the Chinese government to back down at the negotiating table. In an opinion piece in the Wall Street Journal, Bolton outlined a diplomatic ladder of escalation to "compel Beijing's attention," which could start with "officially" receiving Taiwan "diplomats," upgrading the status of US representation in the Taiwan region, inviting Taiwan leaders to make "official visits" to the United States, allowing senior US officials to engage in "government business" in Taiwan, and ultimately restoring "full diplomatic relations" with Taiwan.

Bolton's view clearly reveals Washington's real intentions behind its "support" to Taiwan: The Taiwan question is a pawn on its political chessboard and an easy card to pressure the Chinese government for more concessions.

The DPP's reliance on the US for "protection" will only drag the region into an abyss of misery, with Taiwan residents drawn into a geopolitical gamble not of their making.

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