While American President Joe Biden seemed to question the so-called “ambiguity” strategy adopted for several decades vis-à-vis China by openly declaring that “the Americans would defend Taiwan in the event of an attack” , we return to this concept initiated by decision theory but operating in international relations... as well as in everyday life.
The origin of a political strategy
“Strategic ambiguity” is a relatively recent concept, born from the historical rivalries between China and the United States over Taiwan.
To understand its emergence, we must go back to 1949, when the Chinese nationalist party, the Kuomintang was forced to go into exile on the island of Taiwan after losing the civil war against the communists. A struggle then begins for international recognition between the two parties, both of which claim to represent all of the Chinese people. It was ultimately Mao who won in 1971, when the UN decided to bring his People's Republic of China into the organization, to the detriment of Taiwan which until then represented the country.
