The Legal Status of Taiwan and the Legality of the Use of Force in a Cross-Taiwan Strait Conflict

Abstract

The legal status of Taiwan remains one of the most important concerns in internationalrelations,asthecontinualpoliticaltensionshavethepotentialofgenerating armed conflicts, not only across the Taiwan Strait but also between the People’s RepublicofChinagovernmentandtheUnitedStates,andofdestabilizingthesecurityintheAsia-Pacificregionandtheinternationalcommunity.Thisarticleexamines onthebasisofinternationallawwhetherTaiwanhasavalidclaimtostatehood.The implications of relevant peace treaties, the issue of foreign recognition of States and governments, the nature and extent of the right to self-determination, and the permissibility of the use of force under the right of self-defense and the notion of humanitarian intervention in relation to the Taiwan question are discussed.