Opinion | Why Taiwan won’t be the next Afghanistan, despite what US pundits might say
- The tragedy of Afghanistan has inspired all kinds of speculation about Taipei’s supposed helplessness, possible military action by Beijing and the US’ rumoured passivity
- But the US withdrawal from the ‘graveyard of empires’ does not signal its impending betrayal of Taiwan, given Taipei’s greater strategic significance
Rather than focusing on the real tragedy of the event – the legions of Afghans who would like to escape Taliban rule and cannot because of a combination of Western xenophobia and poor planning – commentary, especially in the United States, has zeroed in on what it means for “our” credibility.
This is, perhaps, compound interest from The Economist previously dubbing the Taiwan Strait “the most dangerous place on Earth” but, whatever the cause, the hot takes on possible military action by Beijing, Taipei’s supposed helplessness and the US’ rumoured passivity have flown freely and without much contemplation on whether the analogy holds.
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Satellite images show crowd at Kabul airport as US and Turkish planes leave Afghanistan
Congressman Michael Waltz of Florida took to Twitter, for example, to declare that he would be “terrified” if he were in Taiwan, “knowing this is how the United States will react under this administration”. And Stuart Lau of Politico tweeted: “Imagine Beijing watching US military ‘commitment’ in Afghanistan while contemplating its next move on Taiwan.”
