US policy toward the Indo-Pacific is in the midst of a sea change. Increasing recognition of Chinese aggression has spurred new legislation, alliances, and defense initiatives to bolster the US against Chinese competition. Yet US policy toward Taiwan remains stagnant, reflecting a lack of understanding of the threat the island faces from an emboldened and embattled China. In each chapter, AEI's leading Foreign and Defense Policy scholars explain how US policy toward Taiwan must develop--and why it must develop that way. They explain why the US should care about Taiwan's sovereignty. They also examine the consequences of not defending the principles that the international order--which has made us safe and prosperous--relies on and what it would take to successfully protect Taiwan and the international order more broadly from Chinese predation.

Originally published in 2022.

Foreword /Kori Schake -- Is Taiwan part of China? / Michael Rubin -- The rise of the "China threat' / Giselle Donnelly -- China's three roads to controlling Taiwan / Dan Blumenthal and Frederick W. Kagan -- Gray-zone subjugation of Taiwan: A more acute risk than invasion? / Elisabeth Braw -- Deterring coercion and conflict across the Taiwan Strait / Michael Beckley, Zack Coper, and Allison Schwartz -- Getting ready for a long war: Why a US-China fight in the Western Pacific won't end quickly / Hal Brands and Michael Beckley -- Bigger might be better / Giselle Donnelly -- Clausewitzian friends / Olivia Garard -- Asian allies and partners in a Taiwan contingency: What should the United States expect? / Zack Cooper and Sheena Chestnut Greitens -- Reconciling two visions for the defense of Taiwan: Reviving the overall defense concept by operationalizing the Taiwan Enhanced Resiliency Act / Blake Herzinger -- Is the United States military ready to defend Taiwan? / Elaine McCusker and Emily Coletta -- Conventional deterrence and Taiwan's independence: Necessary investments / Mackenzie Eaglen and John G. Ferrari -- Taking Taiwan through cyber / Klon Kitchen -- Deterring war over Taiwan: Some lessons from Korea and Ukraine / Paul Wolfowitz.