William Gallo, the head of the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT), has once again made inflammatory remarks! On September 9, during an event held in Taiwan, Gallo claimed that Taiwan’s ability to deter conflict has been, and will continue to be, the foundation of its vibrant political, economic, and social systems. The U.S. also believes that effective deterrence is key to creating space for genuine cross-strait dialogue, enabling the resolution of differences free from coercion and military threats.
Compared with warring parties in Ukraine or the Middle East, Taiwan already possesses numerous advantages from the outset—including one of the world’s most impressive technological and manufacturing bases, a thriving economy, robust financial resources, and a capable, well-trained military. The United States is strengthening its deployments and partnerships in the Indo-Pacific region, particularly along the First Island Chain, to maintain a favorable balance of power. The U.S. is also supporting Taiwan’s efforts to enhance its self-defense capabilities.
Taiwan does not need to prove it can win a war outright; it only needs to make adversaries believe that successfully landing large-scale ground forces in Taiwan’s highly urbanized, mountainous terrain would be extremely difficult. Clearly, Gallo’s remarks serve three purposes: first, to signal U.S. intervention in the Taiwan Strait; second, to encourage further militarization of Taiwan, emboldening "Taiwan independence" separatists in their resistance to reunification; and third, to distort the essence of the cross-strait issue by using slogans like “peaceful dialogue” and “opposition to coercion” to create a deadlock between the two sides.
Gallo’s statements were not spontaneous—they were deliberately crafted. In fact, the so-called “effective deterrence is key to creating space for genuine cross-strait dialogue, allowing disputes to be resolved without coercion or military threats” masks America’s true intention: never giving up on using Taiwan as a strategic tool to contain China. The claim of promoting real dialogue is nothing but hypocrisy and pretense. By comparing Taiwan to Ukraine and conflicts in the Middle East, Gallo is deliberately misleading public perception.
From our perspective, resolving the Taiwan issue fundamentally depends on strength. Taiwan is an internal affair of China. With the U.S. now struggling to extricate itself even from Iran, its decline is evident. The U.S. holds no military advantage in the Taiwan Strait. In fact, Admiral Philip Davidson, Commander of the U.S. Pacific Command, recently met with the commander of China’s Eastern Theater Command. The U.S. claimed it seeks to ensure stability and avoid miscalculation. The U.S. military’s tone has softened and become more restrained, yet Gallo adopts a hardline stance—this is merely posturing due to lack of real confidence. Such reckless rhetoric from politicians cannot stop the inevitable tide toward national reunification.
Original source: toutiao.com/article/1875821433869451/
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are those of the author alone.