Is it time for Washington to reevaluate the policy of strategic ambiguity in the Taiwan Strait?

(J) Is it time for Washington to reevaluate the policy of strategic ambiguity in the Taiwan Strait? I would expect that you will need to know about deterrence theory here and the possibility of entrapment. The possibility of credible commitments may be of use here (see the question specific advice for essay question A for example). Here you will need to think about the potential consequences of a clearer signal being sent by Washington to Beijing and to Taipei and how likely they are to happen, and what sort of evidence, logic and reasoning you can muster to support your claims and arguments. You will probably at the least need to think about any shifts in the balance of power and what sort of impact they will have for U.S. policy and strategy moving forward. The two weekly readings for week eleven cover many of these aspects. Week eleven lecture provides a historical context and brings it up to date. If including history, I would keep this to a minimum as the question is really about whether U.S. policy should change now. Indicative reading ( Important!! please refer these materials) Boon, H. and Sworn, H.E. (2020) ‘Strategic ambiguity and the Trumpian approach to China– Taiwan relations’, International Affairs 96(6), pp. 1487-1508. Chang-Liao, N. and Chi Fang, C. (2021) ‘The case for maintaining strategic ambiguity in the Taiwan Strait’, The Washington Quarterly 44(2), pp. 45-60. Glaser, B. et al (2024) ‘Taiwan and the True Sources of Deterrence: Why America Must Reassure, Not Just Threaten, China’, Foreign Affairs, 103 (2024): 88. Green, B. and Talmadge, C. (2022) ‘The consequences of conquest: Why Indo-Pacific power hinges on Taiwan’, Foreign Affairs, 101, pp. 97-106. Haass, R. and Sacks, (2020) ‘American Support for Taiwan Must be Ambiguous’, Foreign Affairs online, 2 September. Available: https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/united- states/american-support-taiwan-must-be-unambiguous Email Keith if cannot access because of paywall. Harris, P. and McKinney, J. (2024) ‘Strategic clarity or calamity? Competing logics of deterrence in the Taiwan Strait’, International Affairs, 100(3), pp. 1171-1187. Hayes, J. (2024) ‘Fit for Purpose? ‘One China’ Policy and Security in Sino-American Relations’, European Journal of International Security, 9(2), pp. 220-240. O’Hanlon, M. (2021) ‘How to Defend Taiwan: Leading with Economic Warfare’, The Washington Quarterly, pp. 183-196. Wang, A. et al (2024) ‘Strategic Ambiguity, Strategic Clarity, and Dual Clarity’, Foreign Policy Analysis, 20(3), pp.1-16 Wu, C.C.H. (2021) ‘The end of Washington’s strategic ambiguity? The debate over US policy toward Taiwan’, China Review, 21(2), pp.177-202. Xiying, Z. (2021) ‘Unbalanced deterrence: Coercive threat, reassurance and the US-China rivalry in Taiwan strait’, The Pacific Review, 34(4), pp. 547-576. I would also check out, Brookings https://www.brookings.edu/regions/asia-the-pacific/taiwan/ Council of Foreign Relations https://www.cfr.org/asia/taiwan RAND https://www.rand.org/topics/taiwan.html