Cross-strait "Three Links" Under The Security Pattern Of Northeast Asia

Taiwan is an inseparable part of Chinese sacred territories since ancient times. The historical reasons and the Cold War led to the current separation between Taiwan and the mainland. "Taiwan issue" is complete Chinese internal affair, and the main reason that it has been widely concerned is its unique strategic position. As the hub for air routes of Western Pacific, Taiwan is not only a bridgehead of Eurasia to the east into the Pacific, but also a springboard of the ocean to the west into Eurasia. Taiwan is also the major barrier of the seven Chinese coastal provinces and the only channel to the Pacific, therefore the United States regards it as "an unsinkable aircraft carrier."Since the separation between Taiwan and the mainland, China has not stopped the efforts on the reunification with Taiwan, and experienced the process from the force liberation at first to the peaceful liberation, and then the peaceful reunification. The Standing Committee of the National People's Congress issued a "Message to Compatriots in Taiwan" on New Year's Day 1979, which put forward the cross-strait "three links" policy for the first time, namely cross-strait transportation, trade and postal links. However, cross-strait "three links" is unfavorable, the main reason of which is the effect of Northeast Asian security pattern, especially the constraints of the United States and Japan.First of all, Taiwan issue is an important part of the U.S. global strategy, particularly the Northeast Asia strategy. In 1979, The United States claimed that Taiwan Strait was "crucial" to the U.S. national interest in "Taiwan Relations Act" enacted by the Congress, and "seriously concerned" by Americans. After the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and the U.S., the United States publicly declared no official contact with Taiwan, but they continued to maintain and even strengthen substantive relations with Taiwan, and improved the level of military sales to Taiwan, in order to obstruct cross-strait exchanges and delay the cross-strait unification. The factor of U.S. is the most important influencing factor in the process of cross-strait relations.Secondly, restraining Chinese rising with Taiwan issue is an inevitable choice for Japanese strategy. From the geostrategic considerations, once Taiwan reunites with the mainland, Taiwan Strait will become Chinese "inland sea", and Japanese maritime transport will be completely under the control of China, so Japanese are unwilling to see a unified and powerful China. Thereby, Japan established "development of substantive relations with Taiwan" as Japanese basic policy, Japan-Taiwan relations showed a "quasi-official nature", and Japan even openly advocated the US-Japan-Taiwan alliance.It is obvious that the United States and Japan are the largest external obstacles for China to resolve the "Taiwan issue".After the Cold War, the international political situation and Northeast Asia pattern changed profoundly. For the connivance and support of the United States and Japan, "Taiwan independence" forces expended rapidly, the cross-strait relations have experienced the changes of "the mainland and Taiwan both of Chinese territories", "equal political entities", "special state-to-state relations", "sovereign independent country" and "each country on one side of cross-strait", and cross-strait "three links" has been attached political conditions and been made difficult.Cross-strait "three links" is affected by Northeast Asia pattern, and is the reflection of changes of Northeast Asia pattern. The courses of cross-strait "three links" throughout 30 years are all the embodiments of changes of Northeast Asian pattern and cross-strait policies trend.This thesis searches the inevitable relations between the security pattern of Northeast Asia and the process of cross-strait "three links" through the analysis, and tries to carry out some useful exploration for the research of cross-strait "three links" status.Although cross-strait "three links" is affected deeply by Northeast Asian pattern, the history will not be reversed. Cross-strait "three links" will be achieved finally with the efforts of cross-strait people, and the reunification of our motherland will come true necessarily.