If anything can tip the global power struggle between China and the United States into an actual military conflict, many experts and administration officials say, it is the fate of Taiwan.
Beijing has increased its military harassment of what it considers a rogue territory, including menacing flights by 15 Chinese warplanes near its shores over recent days. In response, Biden administration officials are trying to calibrate a policy that protects the democratic, technology-rich island without inciting an armed conflict that would be disastrous for all.
Under a long-standing — and famously convoluted — policy derived from the United States' "one China” stance that supports Taiwan without recognizing it as independent, the U.S. provides political and military support for Taiwan but does not explicitly promise to defend it from a Chinese attack.