Declassified document indicates US commitment to defending Taiwan

解密文件表明美國承諾捍衛台灣

Outgoing Trump administration releases document outlining how to safeguard Indo-Pacific from Chinese expansion


TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — A declassified national security document released by the White House on Tuesday (Jan. 12) explains the U.S. government’s framework for managing the effects of China’s rise in the Indo-Pacific.

The “U.S. Strategic Framework for the Indo-Pacific” was declassified 22 years ahead of schedule by outgoing Trump administration officials who aimed to communicate “to our allies and partners America’s enduring commitment to this vital region,” according to a statement by National Security Advisor Robert O’Brien.

As Joe Biden is set to take office on Jan. 20, it would seem the declassification was intended to prod the new president into a more muscular posture toward China.

Primarily concerned with how to maintain American primacy in the Indo-Pacific, the document does not dance around what it sees as the threat from a rising China, which it describes as seeking to "dissolve U.S. alliances" and establish “illiberal spheres of influence” in the region while pursuing dominance in advanced technologies to wield “in the service of authoritarianism.”

In response to China’s vision of a shared Asian destiny implicitly guided by the Chinese Communist Party, the U.S. must “puncture the narrative that Chinese regional domination is inevitable,” the document states. This would be achieved in part by competing with China’s Belt and Road Initiative to provide “technical assistance to friendly governments” while promoting a rules-based international order.

Regarding Taiwan, the document states that China "will take increasingly assertive steps to compel unification" and that Washington must foster Taipei's development of asymmetric defenses. The framework, which has been operative for all Executive Branch departments since 2018, including the Department of Defense, also appears to commit the U.S. to a security guarantee for Taiwan:


“(1) denying China sustained air and sea dominance inside the ‘first island chain’ in a conflict; (2) defending the first-island-chain nations, including Taiwan; and (3) dominating all domains outside the first island chain.”


One additional move to counter China's aggression, the document notes, will be to “accelerate India’s rise and capacity to serve as a net provider of security and Major Defense Partner” while supporting its aspiration to be a “leading global superpower.”

The guidelines promote strengthening the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, or the Quad, which is comprised of India, the U.S., Japan, and Australia. The "central role of ASEAN in the region's security architecture" is also mentioned.

The document briefly considers threats beyond China, such as North Korea’s nuclear weapons program. Since the assessment was drafted during the fleeting courtship between President Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, however, the optimistic outlook now seems untimely.