Arms sales turns case—it gives Taiwan the perception that the US is intentionally provoking China into a war

(Clark) Aoqi Wu, "To reassure Taiwan and deter China, the US should learn from history," Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, 3-13-2023, https://thebulletin.org/premium/2023-03/to-reassure-taiwan-and-deter-china-the-us-should-learn-from-history/-- 嘉玮

As the US grand strategy toward China gradually shifted from engagement to containment (in all but name) during the Trump administration, the Taiwanese are increasingly concerned about being entrapped. Rather than allaying their concerns, increased US economic and military support for Taiwan has caused some Taiwanese policy experts (especially those associated with the KMT) to think that US policymakers have ulterior motives (Situation Room 2023; Chu 2023). Especially after the outbreak of the war in Ukraine, many KMT politicians believed that the real strategic intent of the United States is to “Ukraine-ize” Taiwan—that is, to provoke a military conflict in Taiwan, so China is caught in the same quagmire of war that Russia now has encountered in Ukraine (Situation Room 2023; Chu 2023; Liu 2023).

Without sacrificing its own sons and daughters, Washington could use Taiwan as a “graveyard of empire” to consume China ’s enormous economic and military resources simply by selling weapons and providing military and economic assistance. According to this view, the US national security establishment, therefore, whether in symbolic diplomatic moves (such as then House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan), stepping up arms sales, or advising on Taiwan’s defense strategy, is trying to “weaponize” Taiwan by provoking China to attack it. Such skepticism is not only popular among the KMT but has also influenced the interpretation of the war in Ukraine and US foreign policy in Taiwan in general.