The United States and China in Power Transition - Strategic Studies ...

Following the tenuous armistice in 1953, the United
States turned around to sign a Mutual Defense Treaty
with the Republic of China (ROC) government on Taiwan,
turning the Seventh Fleet’s temporary patrolling
into a long-term U.S. commitment to the defense of
Taiwan. 69 This pact effectively put Taiwan out of reach
by the mainland Chinese for the next 20 years.
The next time the United States dealt with the Taiwan
issue was in 1972 when President Richard Nixon
made his historic visit to China. Nixon was there to
change U.S.-China relations and solicit China’s cooperation
in ending the Vietnam War and counterbalancing
the Soviet threat. The Chinese leaders took
the opportunity to address the Taiwan issue. It was a
tough business. 70 The two sides expressed their positions
in the Shanghai Communiqué, which turned out
to be a masterpiece of diplomatic communication in
modern international relations known as the “agreement
to disagree,” as the following:
• The Chinese side reaffirmed its position: the Taiwan
question is the crucial question obstructing
the normalization of relations between China
and the United States; the Government of
the PRC is the sole legal government of China;
Taiwan is a province of China which has long
been returned to the motherland; the liberation
of Taiwan is China’s internal affair in which no
other country has the right to interfere; and all
U.S. forces and military installations must be
withdrawn from Taiwan. The Chinese Government
firmly opposes any activities which aim
at the creation of “one China, one Taiwan,”
“one China, two governments,” “two Chinas,”
an “independent Taiwan” or advocate that “the
status of Taiwan remains to be determined.”
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