Disarmament and International Security Committee
The Taiwan Strait
In East Asia, few flashpoints are as perilous or as contested as the Taiwan Strait. Since 1949, when China’s civil war split the nation, this 110-mile-wide waterway has separated the People’s Republic of China (mainland) and the Republic of China (Taiwan), becoming a symbolic and literal divide between two competing governments. Beijing considers Taiwan a renegade province and has vowed to reunify it (by force if necessary), while Taiwan’s people have developed a distinct democratic society and identity – a fundamental disagreement at the heart of ongoing tensions. Today, the Taiwan Strait is often cited as the most dangerous potential flashpoint in the world, where a conflict could quickly draw in China, the United States, and other powers in the region . Military activity around the strait has escalated in recent years: China’s navy and air force conduct menacing drills near the island, the U.S. expands arms sales to Taiwan and freedom-of-navigation patrols, and neighboring countries watch warily. In DISEC, addressing this issue means grappling with questions of sovereignty, deterrence, and global risk – how can nations uphold peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait? Delegates must consider confidence-building measures, crisis communication, and the broader balance of power in the Indo-Pacific, striving to prevent a miscalculation that could ignite a major war.
In East Asia, few flashpoints are as perilous or as contested as the Taiwan Strait. Since 1949, when China’s civil war split the nation, this 110-mile-wide waterway has separated the People’s Republic of China (mainland) and the Republic of China (Taiwan), becoming a symbolic and literal divide between two competing governments. Beijing considers Taiwan a renegade province and has vowed to reunify it (by force if necessary), while Taiwan’s people have developed a distinct democratic society and identity – a fundamental disagreement at the heart of ongoing tensions. Today, the Taiwan Strait is often cited as the most dangerous potential flashpoint in the world, where a conflict could quickly draw in China, the United States, and other powers in the region . Military activity around the strait has escalated in recent years: China’s navy and air force conduct menacing drills near the island, the U.S. expands arms sales to Taiwan and freedom-of-navigation patrols, and neighboring countries watch warily. In DISEC, addressing this issue means grappling with questions of sovereignty, deterrence, and global risk – how can nations uphold peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait? Delegates must consider confidence-building measures, crisis communication, and the broader balance of power in the Indo-Pacific, striving to prevent a miscalculation that could ignite a major war.
In East Asia, few flashpoints are as perilous or as contested as the Taiwan Strait. Since 1949, when China’s civil war split the nation, this 110-mile-wide waterway has separated the People’s Republic of China (mainland) and the Republic of China (Taiwan), becoming a symbolic and literal divide between two competing governments. Beijing considers Taiwan a renegade province and has vowed to reunify it (by force if necessary), while Taiwan’s people have developed a distinct democratic society and identity – a fundamental disagreement at the heart of ongoing tensions. Today, the Taiwan Strait is often cited as the most dangerous potential flashpoint in the world, where a conflict could quickly draw in China, the United States, and other powers in the region . Military activity around the strait has escalated in recent years: China’s navy and air force conduct menacing drills near the island, the U.S. expands arms sales to Taiwan and freedom-of-navigation patrols, and neighboring countries watch warily. In DISEC, addressing this issue means grappling with questions of sovereignty, deterrence, and global risk – how can nations uphold peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait? Delegates must consider confidence-building measures, crisis communication, and the broader balance of power in the Indo-Pacific, striving to prevent a miscalculation that could ignite a major war.