Taiwan's Security and a Rising China

The China Policy Institute is delighted to announce that the next Taiwan Studies lecture will be delivered by Dr Robert S Ross on Tuesday 12 May. 

Abstract: The rise of Chinese of military and economic power and Taiwan’s diminishing defence options pose fundamental challenges to Taiwan’s security and its ability to resist Chinese coercion and the pressures for unification.  As China’s power continues to rise, Taiwan must evaluate the strategic value of the US-Taiwan defence partnership, Taiwan’s arms acquisition priorities, and its mainland policy.  These challenges will be especially difficult should the Democratic Progressive Party win the Taiwan presidency in 2016.  Nonetheless, despite the daunting mainland’s significant advantages, a pragmatic Taiwan security policy can both respond to Taiwan’s economic restraints and enable Taiwan to resist mainland coercion to maintain its political autonomy.
 
Biography: Robert S. Ross is Professor of Political Science at Boston College and Associate, John King Fairbank Center for East Asian Research, Harvard University.  In 2014 he was Visiting Scholar at the Institute for Security Studies, Peking University.  He has been a Fulbright Professor at the Chinese Foreign Affairs College and a Visiting Senior Fellow at the Institute of International Strategic Studies, Qinghua University.  His recent publications include Chinese Security Policy: Structure, Power, and Politics (Routledge, 2009), China’s Ascent: Power, Security, and the Future of International Politics (Cornell University Press, 2008), and New Directions in the Study of Chinese Foreign Policy (Stanford University Press, 2006).  He has testified before various Senate and House committees and the Defence Policy Board Advisory Committee.  He is a member of the Academic Advisory Group, US-China Working Group, United States Congress, and he is a consultant to US government agencies.  He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and the National Committee for US-China Relations and he is a Senior Advisor of the Security Studies Program, Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

ADMISSION FREE & EVERYONE WELCOME
16:00 – 16:50         Talk
16:50 – 17:30         Q&A
17:30 – 18:00         Drinks Reception