Taipei [Taiwan], September 10 : Taiwan and the United States should prepare for a potential crisis arising from China’s expanding “grey zone” coercion instead of concentrating solely on preventing a full-scale war, Stanford University academic Eyck Freymann stated, as reported by The Taipei Times.
According to The Taipei Times, speaking at a symposium in Taipei, Freymann, a Hoover Fellow at Stanford’s Hoover Institution, said Taiwan’s future could be shaped more by an escalating crisis than by an outright military conflict.
He argued that Taipei and Washington need a joint strategy for deterring and responding to coercive actions that remain below the threshold of armed confrontation. Freymann highlighted Chinese Coast Guard activities involving commercial vessels travelling to and from Taiwan.
Chinese authorities have reportedly contacted ships by radio, questioned them about their routes and cargoes, and asserted jurisdiction over surrounding waters. Freymann stated that repeated actions could eventually create what he described as a form of “legal encirclement", allowing Beijing to establish the principle that commercial traffic around Taiwan requires Chinese approval.
If shipping companies and international insurers began complying with such directives, China could potentially exert control over Taiwan’s maritime environment without firing a shot. Beijing has intensified maritime activities east of Taiwan in recent months. China launched what it called a special maritime law-enforcement operation in June and subsequently maintained coast guard patrols.
Beijing also conducted a seabed survey east of Taiwan between August 10 and August 31, citing territorial planning and resource management. Taiwan has rejected Beijing’s claims of jurisdiction. Freymann said the debate over when Chinese President Xi Jinping might attack Taiwan overlooks the fact that Beijing is already applying pressure on Taiwan daily, as highlighted by The Taipei Times.
He also stressed Taiwan’s importance to the United States because of its semiconductor industry. With Taiwan producing the overwhelming majority of the world's most advanced chips, disruption to supplies could cause severe consequences for technology companies and global financial markets, as reported by The Taipei Times.