Commonwealth Club Of California Podcast

The first place many people looked following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine was Taiwan, long in the sights of the communist government of mainland China, which has vowed to absorb the island nation. If bigger countries were once again subsuming smaller neighbors, what could keep an ever-stronger China from going to war with Taiwan? And will it be the tripwire to sparking a third world war, this time with the United States and China as the main players?  According to the Hoover Institution’s Eyck Freymann, Taiwan is where the uneasy peace between the United States and China will be tested—and maybe broken. In Beijing’s terms, “reunification” is inevitable. American military strength has preserved peace and stability for decades, but its advantages are eroding. Freymann says Beijing has found critical gaps in U.S. strategy and is working to squeeze, isolate and coerce Taiwan into submission without firing a shot. If deterrence fails, the consequences of a Taiwan crisis could be catastrophic, perhaps plunging the