In an interview with the website of the Strategic Council on Foreign Relations, Dr. Hamed Vafaei talked about the escalation of tensions between China and Taiwan in the wake of the recent war games held by China around Taiwan and also the statements of the President of Taiwan against Beijing; he said: Any country that wants to have relations with China must accept the principle of united China first. Many countries, including America, have accepted this condition. Otherwise, China would avoid any relationship with this country. China considers Taiwan one of its provinces, but the Americans have a dual approach. On the one hand, they accept a united China, but on the other hand, they emphasize Taiwan’s independence, supply it with considerable military aid, and support its claims of independence.

He added that Taiwan’s ownership status to China is similar to the ownership of the three islands in the Persian Gulf to Iran. In Taiwan, some parties are closer to the People’s Republic of China, and some have more radical positions towards the central government. The current president of Taiwan also adopts a tough stance towards the People’s Republic of China and has clearly said that Taiwan is an independent country and China cannot pressure it. The Taiwan president has even violated some of China’s red lines in his statements.

Referring to the recent Chinese war games around the island of Taiwan, this university professor clarified that this exercise was conducted in response to the recent positions and movements of the Taiwanese president.

About America’s role in increasing tension between China and Taiwan, Vafaei said: In recent years, the United States, under the Indo-Pacific strategy, which considers China to be its main strategic threat, has tried to shift its focus towards the Middle East region on Southeast Asia. In this framework, it has also concluded many military and security agreements with East Asian countries.

The Chinese are also trying to escape the security space the Americans have set for them in the region by adopting the “Belt and Road” strategy. The Belt and Road Strategy is a comprehensive idea that includes a maritime Silk Road and a land belt from east to west, which the Chinese also call the “New Silk Road.”

He added that America’s strategy in Southeast Asia is to push the game to security-military dimensions, which has a significant advantage over China. Still, China is trying to shift this space toward geo-economic equations. By the way, China has made significant achievements in the space of economic equations, including its relations with Japan and ASEAN countries. Also, during the Trump era, the Chinese could practically overtake the United States in the geo-economic field. However, they still have weaknesses in the security and military areas compared to the United States.

Emphasizing that the US uses Taiwan as an effective tool to contain China and possibly harm this country, this East Asian expert said: China’s policy about Taiwan is based on two things: First, they have historically emphasized that they will never fire the first shot at Taiwan, and the exercises they hold in this area are showoff and propaganda and to put pressure on the island of Taiwan. Therefore, as long as there is no real threat against China’s national sovereignty from Taiwan, the Chinese will not adopt a military approach against Taiwan. The second policy of China towards Taiwan emphasizes the “one country, two systems” policy, which has also been adopted in Hong Kong. The Chinese are also interested in implementing this policy for Taiwan. Of course, the movement that currently holds the helm of Taiwan’s leadership is against this policy of China.

He stated that the Chinese have always dealt with the issue of Taiwan intelligently and added: From time to time, the discussions between China and Taiwan become heated, and many people think that there will soon be a war in this region, which, of course, is a wrong perception. Most people in Taiwan are Chinese, and their families are on the mainland, and they have extensive economic relations with each other.

Regarding America’s attempt to secure Southeast Asia as a threat to China, Vafaei said that China is seeking to de-securitize this region and push the equations towards geo-economics. The Chinese are vigilantly watching the space and will not enter the security trap designed by America until a bullet is fired at China from Taiwan. In other words, the space of Taiwan and China is similar to that of Ukraine and Russia, where Moscow entered the security trap set by the West and NATO. This university professor did not consider the tension between China and Taiwan a new issue and said: While China insists on a peaceful solution to the Taiwan crisis, the West seeks to secure the space. Even though Taiwan’s public opinion is concerned, they know this space-making. Last year, when China fired cruise missiles, we saw in the recorded images that the people of Taiwan had their normal life and were not worried about the start of a possible war. China considers Taiwan a part of its territory and is doing its best not to fall into the security trap set by the United States.