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In Taiwan’s survival game plan, rum and chips are part of the toolkit

To win friends and deter a Chinese attack, Taiwan has put into play a multi-pronged strategy. Success, though, carries the risk of escalating cross-strait tensions.

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Taiwan is recognized by just 14 states and the number could shrink this year.

Taiwan is recognised by just 14 states, and the number could shrink in 2023.

PHOTO: REUTERS

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A high-ranking parliamentary delegation from Germany was in Taiwan for a four-day “solidarity” visit earlier in January. A day before the German lawmakers’ arrival, Chinese warplanes and ships carried out military drills around the island.

Beijing views Taiwan as a

breakaway province to be reunified with the mainland.

It has responded strongly to any perceived attempt to undermine that goal. A dramatic example came in 2022, in the form of massive war games amounting to an

air and sea blockade of Taiwan

following a

visit by then US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

Beijing has also asserted diplomatic, economic and commercial pressure to isolate Taiwan internationally.

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