[NTDTV, Beijing, March 03, 2022]The war between Russia and Ukraine continues to heat up. The Ukrainian rescue agency said that the invasion of the Russian army has killed more than 2,000 civilians and more than 800,000 refugees have fled their homes. The lessons of Ukraine have caused reflections from think tanks in the United States and Taiwan. Several military experts questioned the “ambiguity of Taiwan’s strategy” previously pursued by the U.S. government, and called on Washington to be “strategically clear” on the Taiwan Strait issue.
On the seventh day of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the Russian army has significantly stepped up its offensive against several cities in Ukraine. Several buildings including the municipal building in Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second largest city, were attacked by heavy Russian artillery fire; the port of Mariupol in southeastern Ukraine also rumbled; the city of Kherson on the west side of the Black Sea ) was surrounded by Russian troops. In the process, civilian casualties have increased.
According to Taiwan Central News Agency, a Ukrainian rescue agency said that the Russian invasion has killed more than 2,000 civilians in Ukraine and destroyed hundreds of buildings, including transportation facilities, hospitals, kindergartens and homes. According to data released by the United Nations (UN) on March 2, the fighting has caused nearly 836,000 Ukrainians to flee their homes.
The Ukrainian crisis has sparked concerns about the safety of the Taiwan Strait, and the rhetoric of “Ukraine today, Taiwan tomorrow” has been rampant in recent days. Military experts in the United States and Taiwan are also reflecting on the lessons of the current situation in Ukraine: the CCP’s covetous threat to Taiwan is no less than Russia’s coveted Ukraine, and the U.S. government’s ambiguous stance on Taiwan’s strategy deserves reconsideration.
Ian Easton, senior director of the 2049 Project Institute, a U.S. think tank, said frankly in an emailed response to VOA’s interview, “The core lesson of the Russian-Ukrainian war is that strategic ambiguity It doesn’t work and it’s dangerous to isolate fragile democracies that could be attacked.”
Eastian said he believes that the US government should send senior officials of the current government to visit Taiwan, the US president should have a phone call with the Taiwanese president and make it public, and the US military can also conduct bilateral training with Taiwan.
“The U.S. military still has a lot of work to do to restore deterrence,” Eastian wrote. “We must build a NATO-like collective security mechanism in Asia to protect all democracies, especially Taiwan.”
Su Ziyun, director of the National Defense Strategy and Resources Research Institute of the Taiwan National Defense Security Research Institute, told VOA that the so-called “strategic ambiguity” of the United States can be regarded as a kind of “constructive clarity”, that is, the official document does not say to help defend Taiwan, but What the officials say is to help defend Taiwan. On the one hand, Taiwan should show a firm determination to defend itself. On the other hand, “of course we hope that we can move towards clarity. This is the most effective way to deter aggression.”
Su Ziyun said that compared with the ground operations faced by Ukraine, Taiwan is a naval and air battlefield. Taiwan has more advantages in terms of geostrategy and terrain. Combined with national defense resources, there is a great opportunity to prevent the military adventure of the Chinese military.
Former Taiwan legislator Shen Fuxiong publicly stated on March 2 that in the past, many people believed that the “ambiguous strategy” of the United States was beneficial to Taiwan, but from the perspective of the Russian-Ukrainian war, this strategy is completely wrong.
Shen Fuxiong said, “In the past, many people thought that strategic ambiguity was beneficial to Taiwan, because if Beijing could not figure out the U.S. upper limit, it would not easily take action against Taiwan, but judging from the lessons of Ukraine, this strategy is completely wrong. “
Shen Fuxiong said that after the strategy is clear, Taiwan will not have to ask all day long, “Will the United States send troops when the CCP calls?”
He said that although most Taiwanese believe that the United States will definitely send troops, they are not so sure after all, and the current situation in Ukraine has deepened Taiwanese’s doubts.
Recently, former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe called on the U.S. government to abandon its “ambiguous strategy” toward Taiwan and make it clear that the U.S. stands in defense of Taiwan.
(Reporter Tang Di comprehensive report/responsible editor: Hu Long)
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