Rethinking the triangle: Washington-Beijing-Taipei. Edited by Brantly Womack and Yufan Hao

Abstract

Rethinking the triangle: Washington–Beijing–Taipei. Edited by Brantly Womack and Yufan Hao. Singapore: World Scientific and University of Macau. 2016. 236pp. Index. £65.60. isbn 978 9 81471 312 2. Available as e-book. The starting-point for this book is a challenge to the idea that Taiwan is, or should be, a ‘problem’ in US–China relations. Rethinking the triangle between Washington, Beijing and Taipei could, it is argued, see the relationship become an ‘inclusive, opportunity-driven one’ (p. vi), overcoming the entrenched suspicion which has existed since the early years of the Cold War. As Brantly Womack demonstrates in his chapter offering ‘an American perspective’ on the triangle, this is actually going with the grain of recent developments in cross-Strait relations, which have been characterized by growing economic interdependence (including in production networks for goods for the US market) and improved political relations. That better cross-Strait relations are the first step for a more inclusive triangle would appear to be supported by the PRC (People's Republic of China) perspective provided by Ren Xiao. Taiwan's transition in 2008 from independence-leaning president Chen Shui-bian (Democratic Progressive Party, DPP) to Ma Ying-jeou (Nationalist Party, KMT) was a key step to improved ties across the Taiwan Strait, but Ren also highlights a longer process of gradual softening and increased pragmatism in Beijing's policy, from changes in language in the 1970s (as US diplomatic recognition shifted from Taipei to Beijing) to the adoption of the ‘1992 consensus’ which allowed both sides space for different interpretations of ‘one China’ (pp. 53–5). He sees policy developments under Hu Jintao (2002–2012) as continuing this trend, with cautious optimism about prospects if the DPP were to regain power in 2016—as it has since done.