Introduction

The Taiwan Strait continues to be plagued by volatility. The People´s Republic of China has 700 to 800 missiles on alert within striking distance of Taiwan. Other states, including the United States, are increasingly worried about the Mainland's commitment to Taiwan. According to a recent poll, 61 percent of Americans are opposed to deploying US troops if the Mainland invaded Taiwan. Beijing has actively sought to discourage the US from intervening if a conflict in the Taiwan Strait were to occur. Thus, renewed efforts in conflict management are urgent for the issue not to spiral out of control.

The economic links across the Taiwan Strait have grown considerably over the past few years. In 2003, the Mainland accounted for 68 percent of Taiwan´s export growth. Building on this economic interdependence, this conference seeks to discuss new ways of promoting conflict management in the Taiwan Straits. The speakers include high-ranking military officers, ambassadors, and experts in conflict management. Lessons drawn from the European experience in confidence-building are discussed in the context of contemporary Asian affairs. Further, international trade security and confidence-building measures in the energy sector are treated in separate seminars.

Aim and Purpose

This conference addresses the relationship between Mainland China and Taiwan from a conflict management and conflict prevention perspective. The conference combines a theoretical and policy outlook with a strong focus on the development of new methods for conflict prevention and management as well as confidence building. More specifically, the aim is to identify methods, models and strategies for improving the relationship between the two states. This will be achieved by the sharing of ideas and experience between leading academics, policy makers and high ranking military personnel.

The conference will be organized into two forums, addressing both areas of ongoing cooperation, as well as contentious issues that strain the current relationship between Mainland China and Taiwan. The presentations in the different sessions will serve to identify new ways in which ongoing cooperation can be extended and transferred, and also how existing challenges can be confronted and, hopefully, transcended.

For an overview of and introduction to conflict prevention and management in Northeast Asia, please consult our previous publications. In this regard, the Program's concept paper, discussing and integrating different approaches to conflict prevention, management and resolution, may be of particular interest. (click here (pdf)). The main purpose of the conference series is to function as a forum in which researchers and practitioners can share and exchange knowledge and expertise in the fields of conflict prevention and management with regard to Cross-Strait relations.

Any queries can be directed to the conference organizer Dr. Niklas Swanström or the conference coordinator Mr. Tomas Nordberg (tnordberg /at/ silkroadstudies.org).