Taipei, May 18 (ANI) — China’s policy toward Taiwan has grown markedly more confrontational, shifting from rhetoric of peaceful engagement to a strategy that relies increasingly on coercion, military pressure and political influence, former American Institute in Taiwan director William Stanton warned on Monday.
Speaking at a seminar in Taipei reviewing the Democratic Progressive Party’s governance since 2016, Stanton — as reported by the Taipei Times — said Beijing now appears more determined to force political outcomes regarding Taiwan. He linked the shift to President Xi Jinping’s broader ambitions of “national rejuvenation” and the goal of eventual unification.
Stanton also discussed recent changes in U.S. policy. He said that earlier under former President Donald Trump, the United States treated Taiwan as an important strategic partner in efforts to counter Beijing, expanding arms sales and deepening diplomatic engagement. But Stanton argued that a second-term posture by Trump had become more transactional, with heightened emphasis on economic interests, semiconductor production and defence spending.
Despite those shifts in emphasis, Stanton stressed that Washington has continued to strengthen ties with Taipei. Since 2016 the U.S. has deepened security cooperation, loosened restrictions on official interactions between American and Taiwanese representatives, and backed legislation to support Taiwan’s participation in international organisations such as the World Health Organization and the International Civil Aviation Organization.
Stanton warned that Beijing is intensifying so-called “grey-zone” tactics around Taiwan, including more frequent naval and air operations near the island, alongside economic coercion and political influence campaigns aimed at increasing Taipei’s international isolation.
At a separate forum at Tunghai University, political scientist Lin Tzu-li said the recent Trump‑Xi summit could materially reshape Indo‑Pacific security and global geopolitics. Lin noted Taiwan’s strategic importance as part of the First Island Chain and as a centre of the semiconductor industry, and urged Taipei to carefully assess evolving U.S.-China relations and to strengthen coordination with democratic partners to preserve regional stability.
(This article is based on a syndicated feed and is published as received.)
