|
Taiwan is in a similar situation. This country, one of the world's semiconductor production centers, finds itself between a rock and a hard place: the United States and China, who are waging a technological war against each other. These superpowers, says Brian Hioe, actively influence Taiwanese elections2, they lobby in favor of their interests and use their economic influence.
The US supplies weapons to Taiwan and affirms that it will not allow the occupation of Depository Institutions Email List country; However, Hioe adds, US government officials "would like Taiwan to simply disappear," believing its mere existence creates problems. At the same time, China actively threatens Taiwan: it carries out military maneuvers near its coasts, violates the country's airspace and prevents Taiwanese from visiting their relatives in the territory of the People's Republic. All of this provides fertile ground for speculation by both American and Taiwanese right-wing forces.of the left movement in the country is quite weak. Taiwan's heavy dependence on American and Chinese foreign policy is also the reason why, despite long debates, the island nation has not officially declared its independence from China to this day.
Located geographically close to Taiwan, Vietnam is also the target of China's intrusions. Both States maintain a territorial dispute over their borders in the South China Sea, where large oil fields are located. In May 2023, Chinese warships tried to blockade Vietnam's exclusive economic zone for a month, where, by the way, Russian state energy companies operate. According to Chelsea Ngoc Minh Nguyen, due to both China's aggressive behavior and prolonged US sanctions , Vietnam is forced to turn to Russia, its strategic military and economic partner since the Cold War. This dependence explains why the Vietnamese government remains neutral in the Russo-Ukrainian war even though, according to Nguyen, Vietnamese civil society predominantly supports Ukraine.
|
|