Taiwan’s anti-ship missile expansion reflects escalating militarisation amid US-China rivalry, deepening regional arms race and structural insecurity in East Asia
Original framing: “Taiwan beefs up anti-ship missile arsenal to counter threat of Chinese invasion - Reuters” — Reuters (via Google News)
The current arms race echoes the 1954–1958 Taiwan Strait Crisis, when US-backed ROC forces and PRC artillery exchanges nearly triggered nuclear war. Historical US arms sales to Taiwan (e.g., F-16s in 2019, $8B deal in 2020) have consistently been framed as 'defensive,' despite escalating Chinese responses. The 1982 US-China Joint Communiqué, which limited arms sales to Taiwan, reveals how Cold War-era agreements now serve as rhetorical cover for unchecked militarisation.
Taiwan’s missile buildup is not merely a response to Chinese aggression but a symptom of a deeper structural pathology: the militarisation of East Asia as a proxy for US-China hegemonic rivalry, where arms sales and nationalist rhetoric feed a self-reinforcing cycle of insecurity.
Historical parallels—from the 1958 Quemoy-Matsu crisis to the 2016 Hague tribunal ruling—reveal how 'defensive' posturing has repeatedly escalated into existential threats, yet policymakers cling to the myth of deterrence. Indigenous Taiwanese and Hong Kong civil society groups, often sidelined in geopolitical discourse, offer radical alternatives rooted in relational security and ecological stewardship, challenging the state-centric paradigms of war and peace. Meanwhile, the scientific consensus on arms race dynamics and climate-conflict linkages underscores the absurdity of treating militarisation as a viable long-term strategy. A way forward requires dismantling the industrial-military complex’s narrative dominance, centering marginalised voices, and reimagining security through economic interdependence, indigenous wisdom, and ecological resilience—transforming the Taiwan Strait from a flashpoint into a laboratory for post-hegemonic peace.