Commentary Taiwan is a strategic pivot in the cold war between China and the United States. Its key role in this struggle stems from three major factors: military, economic, and political. Its military role is informed by its location opposite China and by its sound conventional forces. Its economic role stems from its robust economy and as one of the world’s centers of computer chip manufacturing. Taipei’s political role is a democratic alternative to the disastrous misrule of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). These are critical roles, but as security competition between China and the United States intensifies, there is much more that Taipei and Washington must accomplish in the fight against the CCP. The United States must allow Taiwan to become a strategic partner—the equal of Australia and Japan. To that end, the United States must provide Taiwan with the protection necessary to preserve its status as, de facto, …