ABSTRACT
The dramatic growth of the Chinese nominal gross domestic product (GDP) has been far beyond the expectations of Chinese leaders and international observers. The rise of China and the rise of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (BRICS) have led to wide-spread discussion of the relative decline of the US and the coming of a post-US world (Zakaria 2008: 3; Kagan 2012: 24–25; Kupchan 2012: 63–64). Under the shadow of China’s rise and the rapid development of warmer cross-Strait relations since May 2008, Taiwan’s security environment has fundamentally changed. President Barack Obama has welcomed ‘China’s peaceful rise’, believing that ‘a strong and prosperous China is one that can help to bring stability and prosperity to the region and to the world’. 1 On the other hand, China is facing not just the US but a larger Western bloc of democratic states, and it is believed that China ‘cannot fight a hegemonic war and it probably cannot remake the existing international order’ (Ikenberry 2008: 114). Nevertheless, the rise of China has posed a challenge to ‘the United States’ long-term ability to continue playing what it regards a unique security role in the Asia-Pacific region’ (Swaine 2011: 6; Sutter 2005: 289–305).
