[Batrachian]

The only hope for Taiwan is to go nuclear. They need to aquire a credible nuclear deterrent, maybe a triad like the U.S. used to have, and to announce with no ambiguity that they have the means and the determination to destroy China in case of aggression.

Credible nuclear deterrence works. We saw it in the cold war, and there is no reason to doubt that it would work in this case. Taiwan has the technological base to rapidly develop a powerful nuclear force, which they should do in secret, and then announce it to a surprised world.

I don't think they should rely on the U.S. to defend them. You can't take chances when faced with a huge, evil, and implacable enemy like communist China. They're fools not to have done it already.

[lelio]

I don't think they should rely on the U.S. to defend them.

Based on the past 3 administrations I think our response would be "We're working with the Chinese government to open up trade between our two countries" no matter what they do.

[Filibuster_60]

Unfortunately Taiwan's getting nukes is one of the conditions that may well trigger a preemptive strike by China, so even if Taiwan chooses to develop a deterrent, it must do so very secretively, without revealing the location of its nuclear facilities.

[FreedomPoster]

Who's to say they haven't? Or just hinted that they have?

If you were a geriatric leader of China, would *you* chance it? How many ground bursts in port cities would it take to totally mess over China? I'm guessing a fairly small number.

[Orion78]

This is apparently what North Korea aims to do with it's announcement that it has nuclear weapons. The difference, of course, is Kim Jong Il is insane and North Korea is communist.