 "Tension on Taiwan Strait: What is the dispute between China and Taiwan?")
China recently concluded a three-day military exercise, "Joint Sword", around Taiwan. On April 10, after the drills were concluded, China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) said that the exercise "comprehensively tested the integrated joint combat ability of multiple military branches under actual combat conditions".
There were simulated attacks on Taiwan, the encirclement of the island and its "sealing off".
After the exercise was concluded, Taiwan's foreign minister Joseph Wu condemned Beijing's actions. In an interview, he said, "They seem to be trying to get ready to launch a war against Taiwan."
This is not the first time tensions between the two nations have escalated. On several occasions, several countries, including the USA, have asked China to practice restraint. The history of the China-Taiwan conflict, however, goes long back.
Taiwan before World War II
According to historical sources, Taiwan was under full Chinese control in the 17th century when the Qing Dynasty administered it. In 1895, the dynasty gave it to Japan after losing the first Sino-Japan war.
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The modern state of China was first formed in 1911.
Taiwan after World War II
In 1945, after the Japanese surrender in World War II, the island was handed over to China again. But a civil war erupted in the country between the nationalist party, also called Kuomintang, led by Chiang Kai-shek and the Communist Party, led by Mao Zedong.
In 1949, the Communists won the war and took control of Beijing.
Chiang Kai-shek, along with other officials of Kuomintang, fled to the neighbouring island of Taiwan and ruled there for several decades.
What is the controversy about?
The Chinese government believes that there is only one China, and Taiwan is a part of the mainland or the People's Republic of China. It vows to "unify" Taiwan with the mainland.
Taiwan, on the other hand, argues that they were never a part of the mainland and are a separate nation. Thirteen countries globally have recognised Taiwan as a sovereign country. India does not recognise the sovereignty of the island yet.
Interestingly, Taiwan was earlier called Formosa. It was here on August 18, 1945, that Subhash Chandra Bose's plane crashed. The city from where the plane took off was called Taihoku. Today it's called Taipei.
Interestingly, Taiwan was earlier called Formosa. It was here on August 18, 1945, that Subhash Chandra Bose's plane crashed. The city from where the plane took off was called Taihoku. Today it's called Taipei.
Since the end of the civil war, Taiwan and China have been at loggerheads over who controls the nation.
1992 Consensus
In 1986, a pilot from Taiwan's China Airlines defected to communist China by landing his plane in Guangzhou and not Hong Kong, where it was scheduled to land.
In the following years, both sides set up semi-official organisations to regulate a growing number of exchanges across the Taiwan Strait.
In 1992, these bodies reached an agreement on the nature of exchanges between Taiwan and China and said there was "one China". However, the Kuomintang and the Communist Party have different interpretations of "one China".
PRC says that there is only one China, including Taiwan, and it is run by the Communist Party of China. But Taiwan's Democratic Progressive Party, that now governs the island, says otherwise. It maintains that Taiwan must be run independently.
How does the US enter the China-Taiwan equation?
In 1979, the USA ceased recognising Taiwan as "China" as a result of the "One China" policy following a Joint Communique under the Jimmy Carter administration.
After this, the Taiwan–United States relations became unofficial and largely informal. Till March 16, 2018, the relations were governed by the US-Taiwan Relations Act (TRA), which allowed the US to have relations with the "people of Taiwan" and their government, whose name is not specified.
The relations between these two states were further informally grounded in the "Six Assurances" in response to the third communique on the establishment of US–PRC relations.
On March 16, 2018, the US Congress passed the Taiwan Travel Act. It encourages diplomatic visits between Taiwan and USA. Since then, the relations between the United States and Taiwan have manoeuvred to an official and high-level basis.
On May 23, 2022, Joe Biden, during his trip to Asia, vowed to defend Taiwan with the US military in the case of an invasion by China.
Why is Taiwan so important?
Towards the end of the 20th century, Taiwan established itself as one of the most important nations in the world. In 1987, Morris Chang established a semiconductor manufacturing and design company, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), on the island.
TSMC gradually grew to become the world's largest semiconductor-dedicated independent semiconductor foundry. Some of the biggest tech firms like Apple, Nvidia, Qualcomm and AMD are customers of TSMC.
It currently accounts for over 58 per cent of the revenue share in the global semiconductor foundry market.
For China, Taiwan has, of late, become all the more important as it has failed to close in on the US in terms of manufacturing and dominance in the semiconductor market. It became more crucial after the Joe Biden administration in the US passed the CHIPS Act to incentivise domestic research and manufacturing of semiconductor chips.
Have Taiwan-China relations worsened?
Relations between Taiwan and China deteriorated sharply after Nancy Pelosi, US House speaker, visited the island in August 2022. China launched military exercises around Taiwan. It said the visit was "extremely dangerous".
Taiwan, in return, said that the exercises violated its sovereignty.
Since then, the Chinese military has regularly conducted sorties in and around Taiwan.