Security Challenges in the Asia-Pacific Region: The Taiwan Factor

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The security environment in the Asia-Pacific region has become highly complex since the end of the Cold War. The region is confronted with many daunting challenges like the denuclearization of North Korea; international terrorism; tensions in the Taiwan Strait; piracy and other trans-national crimes at sea; the safety and security of the maritime domain of the region; combating maritime pollution and the challenges posed by natural disasters. Among these challenges, the Taiwan issue remains a major stumbling block. The future of the Asia-Pacific region hinges on Taiwan given its political, economic and geostrategic significance.Taiwan now faces many of the same economic issues as other developed economies. The Taiwanese are keen to have a closer interaction with India and Taiwan probably views India as a huge market and as a potential location for global export production. This book explores five main areas Taiwan in the international arena; Taiwan’s relations with its neighbours; US-Taiwan relations; India-Taiwan relations; and Taiwan’s domestic politics. It aims to stimulate more serious and progressive thinking on the entire region in relation to Taiwan.Modern Taiwan has a dynamic capitalist economy. Inflation and unemployment are low; the trade surplus is substantial; and foreign reserves are the world’s fourth largest. Taiwanese investors and businesses have become major investors in China, Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Malaysia. Taiwan’s economy largely consists of small and medium-sized businesses with one in seven people an owner of a business. This transformation cannot, however, be seen independent of the larger geopolitical framework, especially its relationship with the US. Nor can one talk about Taiwan without mentioning China. Since China has never renounced its right to ‘reunify’ Taiwan, Chinese military action hangs like a sword of Damocles over Taiwan’s head.The contributors to this book have located the ‘Taiwan factor’ within the larger security dynamics of the Asia-Pacific region. The book will be useful for those interested or engaged in research on the Asia-Pacific region.About Author: M. J. Vinod is Professor, Department of Political Science, Bangalore University, Bangalore. He completed his M.Phil. and Ph.D. degrees from Bangalore University. His research expertise includes India-United States relations, nuclear issues, South Asian security in terms of its larger ‘regional’ and ‘extra-regional’ dynamics and Indian foreign policy. He has published widely both nationally and internationally.Yeong-kuang Ger is Professor, Department of Political Science and the Graduate Institute of National Development, National Taiwan University. He obtained his Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He was granted the "Ten Outstanding Young Persons Award of the ROC" in 1993. He won the Dr Sun Yat-sen’s Academic Book Award in 2005. He has been recently nominated by the President Ma Ying-jeou as a member of the Control Yuan in 2008.S. Y. Surendra Kumar is Lecturer, Department of Political Science, Bangalore University, Bangalore. He has completed M.Phil. in South Asian Studies from the School of International Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), New Delhi, where he is currently pursuing his Ph.D. He is the recipient of Mahbub-ul-Haq Research Award 2008 given by RCSS, Colombo. He has published more than a dozen articles in leading national and international journals.