Doubly Dualistic Dilemma: US strategies towards China and Taiwan1 Professor Philip Yang is a professor in the Department of Political Science of the National Taiwan University. He has published extensively in Chinese, English, and Japanese on topics such as Taiwan and Asia-Pacific security issues. Dr Yang is also the founder and administrator of the Taiwan Security Research website (www.taiwansecurity.org).

In its relations with Taiwan and China, Washington has begun to implement separate dual strategies in order to simultaneously deter unilateral action while balancing out the rival political and military forces of each side. A simple standard strategy just is not sufficient to maintain the status quo. The way to maintain peace is for Washington to keep its role as a moderator between the two sides while preventing both from taking unilateral steps toward goals that would naturally provoke the other. US policy has to mirror the duality of the cross-strait arena by implementing dual balancing and deterrent strategies. It is also imperative that policymakers realize the complexity of the situation so as not to unwittingly provoke either side. This paper is an analysis of the emerging US strategy of deterring both sides of the Taiwan Strait from taking unilateral action while maintaining a balance of military and political forces, and gives some suggestions as to the further development of this strategy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]