logo
Should Taiwan worry about the US being bogged down in the Mideast again?

Should Taiwan worry about the US being bogged down in the Mideast again?

A US war in the Middle East could leave its armed forces stretched too thin to respond swiftly to a Taiwan Strait crisis, analysts on the island warned after the
US launched multiple precision strikes on nuclear-related sites in Iran on the weekend.
While US President Donald Trump was quick to describe the operation as a 'very successful attack', defence analysts and lawmakers in Taipei suggested that American attention could be
diverted from the Taiwan Strait
Their core concern: that the United States, already deeply engaged in supporting Ukraine, would have
fewer military resources and less political bandwidth to respond swiftly should Beijing move against Taiwan.
'There's no question Taiwan remains a core US interest,' said Li Da-jung, professor of international relations at Tamkang University in New Taipei City.
'But if America finds itself managing two major conflicts at once, we have to ask: how many resources can it realistically spare for us, should Beijing choose that moment to act?'

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Trump saved Khamenei? ‘Disrespectful and unacceptable' claims, Iran says
Trump saved Khamenei? ‘Disrespectful and unacceptable' claims, Iran says

South China Morning Post

timean hour ago

  • South China Morning Post

Trump saved Khamenei? ‘Disrespectful and unacceptable' claims, Iran says

Iran's foreign minister has condemned the 'disrespectful and unacceptable' comments from Donald Trump , after the US president claimed to have saved Iran's Ayatollah Ali Khamenei from an 'ugly and ignominious death'. Advertisement 'If President Trump is genuine about wanting a deal, he should put aside the disrespectful and unacceptable tone towards Iran 's Supreme Leader, Grand Ayatollah Khamenei, and stop hurting his millions of heartfelt supporters,' Abbas Araghchi posted on his social media account on Saturday. 'The Great and Powerful Iranian People, who showed the world that the Israeli regime had NO CHOICE but to RUN to 'Daddy' to avoid being flattened by our Missiles, do not take kindly to Threats and Insults,' the foreign minister said. The United States carried out strikes on three Iranian nuclear sites last weekend, with no consensus as to how effective they were. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi. Photo: EPA-EFE With those strikes, Washington joined Israel 's bombardments of Iran's nuclear programme in the 12-day conflict launched on June 13.

Unlike Trump, ancient China embraced foreign students and even made exams easier for them
Unlike Trump, ancient China embraced foreign students and even made exams easier for them

South China Morning Post

timean hour ago

  • South China Morning Post

Unlike Trump, ancient China embraced foreign students and even made exams easier for them

Foreigners who are thinking of enrolling in American universities are having second thoughts or cancelling their plans outright following President Donald Trump's attempts to cut funding to Harvard University and block it from enrolling foreign students. A few months ago, my nephew, an undergraduate at the National University of Singapore, was considering applying to an American university for his exchange programme in 2026. Now, he is looking at universities in the United Kingdom, Australia and China. Imperial China's highest institutes of learning were not just for locals. For centuries, when China was the civilisational lodestar in the region, people from all over Asia came to study in its universities and try their luck in the famously tough imperial examinations. Some did very well. Harvard filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration in April, following threats to the university's federal funding. Photo: AFP To make it easier for foreign candidates, the Tang dynasty government created a special examination category in 627 that was basically a separate track just for foreign scholars.

As war threatens China's Iran investments, Middle East still beckons
As war threatens China's Iran investments, Middle East still beckons

South China Morning Post

time2 hours ago

  • South China Morning Post

As war threatens China's Iran investments, Middle East still beckons

Watching as missile bombardments threaten key shipping routes and blow up some of their trade deals in the Middle East, with Iran at the centre of the firestorm, Chinese exporters are feeling the heat. After finalising a deal with an Iranian buyer she met at China's Canton Fair in April, Miya Yu, a trader of light industrial goods – valves, toys, aluminium containers, etc – collected the necessary materials to begin production and fill the order. Production never began. The contracted client vanished without a word as his country engaged in battle with the United States and Israel, putting Yu's business plans at risk of becoming an economic casualty of the latest violent crisis in a region that is among the world's most volatile. 'We simply can't tell whether delivery will still be possible,' she said on Monday. Meanwhile, Cai Zhan, a foreign trade entrepreneur from Wenzhou and a social media influencer with more than 1.2 million followers on Douyin – China's version of TikTok – said in a recent video that she had cancelled August plans to attend an auto-parts expo in Iran, after clients warned her not to come, citing the 'serious' security situation. 'The ongoing conflict has severely disrupted business,' she said. And with clients cutting orders, shipping costs rising, and the outlook shrouded in uncertainty, she said many exporters in her network are tightening their belts. In terms of tremors of instability in the pulse of global shifts, few are more attuned than Chinese exporters navigating its shock waves in real time.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store