By Air and by Sea: PRC Coercion of Taiwan from Trump I to Trump II
In 2020, Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense began publishing daily maps to track an alarming new reality: near-constant military pressure from China’s People’s Liberation Army. What started with a spike in activity after senior Trump administration visits to Taipei has hardened into Beijing’s campaign to erase the Taiwan Strait’s centerline, encircle the island with air and naval patrols, and dispatch Coast Guard forces to Taiwan’s outlying islands.
President Lai Ching-te has answered with tougher conscript training, a rapid buildup of drones and sea drones, and new measures to safeguard Taiwan’s military and civilian resilience. Yet the stakes keep rising. Are these efforts enough to keep Beijing at bay? How has Washington recalibrated across two Trump terms? And which strategies actually blunt China’s coercion without provoking war?
Join Michael Beckley, Director of FPRI’s Asia Program, for a conversation with Thomas J. Shattuck, Nonresident Fellow at FPRI and Senior Program Manager at Perry World House, as they unpack the evolution of Chinese pressure “by air and by sea” and consider the options for Taipei, Washington, and their partners going forward.
