The Philippine Association for Chinese Studies and the Asian Center of the University of the Philippines recently launched the Ambassador Chito Sta. Romana Memorial Lecture series on Feb. 10.
American national security demands that even as attention is concentrated on Europe and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, sufficient attention must be paid to the People’s Republic of China (PRC), and especially the Taiwan Strait, to ensure that Beijing does not “burglarize during the house fire [chen huo da jie; 乘火打劫].” Geopolitical, economic, and technological considerations all militate in favor of sustaining American deterrence against any Chinese effort to seize the island.