U.S. support for Taiwan could lead to war

WASHINGTON, Sept. 13 (UPI) -- A recent report from the Washington-based Cato Institute says the United States could be dragged into war with China because of its alliance with Taiwan.

A Cato policy analysis report titled "Taiwan's Defense Budget: How Taipei's Free Riding Risks War" released Thursday says Taiwan's reliance on the United States for military defense and its recent calls for independence could pull the United States into a war with China.

"Taiwan's overall investment in defense, approximately 2.6 percent of gross domestic product, is woefully inadequate given the ongoing tensions with mainland China," writes Justin Logan and Ted Galen Carpenter of the Cato Institute, in a statement.

"Taiwan spends far too little on its own defense, in large part because Taiwanese believe the United States is their ultimate protector. America is now in the unenviable position of having an implicit commitment to defend a fellow democracy that seems largely uninterested in defending itself."

The report says Taiwan's recent push for independence from China and its recent bid to join the United Nations under the name Taiwan instead of the Republic of China is aggravating the situation.

"Washington's policy has not shifted in response to these changing realities, and without increased realism in Washington, a crisis could emerge for which the United States is ill-prepared," according to the writers. "Washington needs to clarify its policy on Taiwan and prevent its client state from dragging the United States toward a confrontation with China."