Pacific Affairs: An International Review of Asia and the Pacific

Volume 72, No. 4

 

Military Coercion and Peaceful Offence: Beijing's Strategy of National Reunification with Taiwan
By Suisheng Zhao

 

Abstract

An oscillating pattern of military coercion and peaceful offence has characterized Beijing's strategy of national reunication with Taiwan. This article explains this pattern by examining the change in China's domestic politics and Beijing's perception of the international environment and Taiwan's internal politics. It argues that there is an inherent and dangerous dynamic that could drive cross-strait relations into a vicious cycle of peace and coercion if Beijing and Taipei cannot negotiate and stabilize the relationship across the Taiwan Strait.