The Island-Chain Allies

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Good evening. At present, Taiwan acts as a giant aircraft carrier moored off China’s coast, impeding the PLA Navy and Air Force’s access to the western Pacific. Should Xi Jinping realise his dream of uniting Taiwan with China, the island would become a platform allowing the PLA to project power eastwards towards the U.S. territories of Guam, Midway and Wake Island, and the Hawaiian islands beyond. But America is not the only country that has a compelling national security interest in maintaining Taiwan’s de facto independence. For Japan and the Philippines, a Chinese-controlled Taiwan would threaten, respectively, their southern and northern flanks. As Chris Horton writes in this week’s cover story, this geopolitical fact is drawing Tokyo and Manila closer to each other — and towards Taipei. It is also the reason Japan’s military sent its first ever large-scale contingent to participate in the recent Balikatan, or “Shoulder-to-Shoulder”, exercises in the Northern Philippines alongside troops from the U.S., Australia, New Zealand, France and Canada.Other items in this week’s issue: Bob Davis on a mooted Sino-U.S. “Board of Trade”; China’s foreign press corps ain’t what it used to be; The Big Picture’s Company in the News is AI glasses maker Rokid; and a conversation with Sebastian Mallaby on the need for China and the U.S. to agree on AI safeguards.Want this emailed directly to your inbox? Sign up to receive our free newsletter.Subscribe nowSOPA 2026 AwardsThe Wire China’s Rachel Cheung has been named a finalist in two categories of this year’s Society of Publishers in Asia …