Taiwan and its partners must consider the very real risk that the PRC will similarly leverage this support group in any aggressive action in the Pacific. Unfortunately, the current day Indo-Pacific security architecture is not well-suited to provide similarly rapid multilateral support. The PRC’s pressure campaign against multilateralism in the Pacific and the region’s history means that a NATO-like military alliance is not a realistic option to deter PRC coercion against Taiwan. Instead, many countries have opted for “minilateralism”: smaller, flexible groupings to collaborate on relatively narrow areas of shared interest. Examples of this include the Quad and AUKUS, which build long-term defense and institutional capabilities between member states—but are not optimized to provide rapid support during a contingency, or even day-to-day gray zone coercion.

To remedy this, Taiwan and her partners should consider another mode of multilateral cooperation, modeled on the Ukraine Defense Contact Group. 

More on

https://globaltaiwan.org/2024/09/deterrence-through-a-taiwan-defense-contact-group/