ISSUES STUDIES Table 1 Washington's Possible Responses to a War between the PRC and Taiwan under Different Circumstances A war provoked by Beijing A war provoked by Taipei Interference More likely Less likely Hands-off Less likely More likely likely response to any military conflict between the PRC and Taiwan.The Taiwan Relations Act(TRA)implies that "were the PRC to attempt to settle the Taiwan question by force,"the United States would react accordingly, even though the Act does not"legally mandate that the United States come to the rescue of Taiwan if it is attacked."President George W.Bush once declared that he saw the United States as having a clear obligation to defend Taiwan and that the United States was willing "to do whatever it took to help Taiwan defend herself"under Beijing's military attack.However, whether and to what degree the United States would get involved in a military conflict provoked by Beijing's attempt to unify China by force is unclear.At the other end of the spectrum,even if a Strait war was provoked by Taiwan's ambition for formal independence,one cannot exclude the possibility that the United States might still provide military support to Taiwan.Washington's possible responses-interference or hands-off- to a war provoked by either side of the Taiwan Strait are illustrated in table 1. Washington's ambiguous strategy toward a possible war across the Taiwan Strait is associated with the traditional U.S.policy of"dual deter- rence and dual reassurance."According to Kenneth Lieberthal,this policy has sent different signals to Beijing and Taipei: Luncheon address by U.S.Senator Craig Thomas at a Woodrow Wilson Center conference on "U.S.-China Relations since the End of the Cold War,"May 9,2000.See Gang Lin,ed., U.S.-China Relations since the End of the Cold War,Asia Program Special Report (Wash- ington,D.C.:Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars,August 2000),9. 10Brian Knowlton,"Analysts See Comments as a Toughening of American Position,"Inter- national Herald Tribune,April 25,2001. 222 June 2007ISSUES & STUDIES 222 June 2007 likely response to any military conflict between the PRC and Taiwan. The Taiwan Relations Act (TRA) impliesthat "were the PRC to attempt to settle the Taiwan question by force," the United States would react accordingly, even though the Act does not "legally mandate that the United States come to the rescue of Taiwan if it is attacked." 9 President George W. Bush once declared that he saw the United States as having a clear obligation to defend Taiwan and that the United States was willing "to do whatever it took to help Taiwan defend herself" under Beijing's military attack. 10 However, whether and to what degree the United States would get involved in a military conflict provoked by Beijing's attempt to unify China by force is unclear. At the other end of the spectrum, even if a Strait war was provoked by Taiwan's ambition for formal independence, one cannot exclude the possibility that the United States might still provide military support to Taiwan. Washington's possible responses— interference or hands-off— to a war provoked by either side of the Taiwan Strait are illustrated in table 1. Washington's ambiguous strategy toward a possible war across the Taiwan Strait is associated with the traditional U.S. policy of "dual deter￾rence and dual reassurance." According to Kenneth Lieberthal, this policy has sent different signals to Beijing and Taipei: 9Luncheon address by U.S. Senator Craig Thomas at a Woodrow Wilson Center conference on "U.S.-China Relations since the End of the Cold War," May 9, 2000. See Gang Lin, ed., U.S.-China Relations since the End of the Cold War, Asia Program Special Report (Wash￾ington, D.C.: Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, August 2000), 9. 10Brian Knowlton, "Analysts See Comments as a Toughening of American Position," Inter￾national Herald Tribune, April 25, 2001. Table 1 Washington's Possible Responses to a War between the PRC and Taiwan under Different Circumstances Interference Hands-off A war provoked by Beijing A war provoked by Taipei More likely Less likely Less likely More likely