Why You Should Care About Taiwan - Interview with Bill Emmott

Our daily news feeds are dominated by active conflicts—but what about the tensions simmering just below the surface, with global stakes just as high? One of the most strategically significant, yet underreported flashpoints in the world is the Taiwan Strait—a 180km-wide body of international water separating Taiwan from mainland China. It's here that grey zone activity by the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) is escalating on a near-daily basis. In this episode of Perspectives with Neilo, we explore: The CCP’s claim on Taiwan—and why it’s historically weaker than Britain's claim on Ireland Taiwan’s democratic identity and its people’s overwhelming rejection of CCP rule The rise of grey zone warfare, military drills, and coercive tactics by China The impact of U.S. strategic ambiguity and why the U.S. might be pulled into a war with China Why Europe and the West must care about Taiwan’s future 🎙️ My guest is Bill Emmott—author of Deterrence, Diplomacy and the Risk of Conflict over Taiwan (2024), former editor-in-chief of The Economist, and one of the most respected voices in international affairs. We recorded this episode on the sidelines of the MacGill Summer School in July 2025. We dive deep into the risks of conflict, the future of U.S.-China relations, and how the world can avoid sleepwalking into a war over Taiwan. 🔗 Resources: Check out our blog at www.pwneilo.com for more information. Credits: Thumbnail map shows the locations of China’s military drills around Taiwan. The blue blocks represent war games held in 2022, the yellow and red blocks represent the “Joint Sword 2024” drills. Photo: Screen grab from the Chinese People’s Liberation Army Eastern Theater Command’s Sina Weibo account courtesy of the Taipei Times. Link in blog. Music: even darker variation by SamuelFJohanns via Pixabay Cinematic Piano Ambient Trailer Soundtrack by Open-Music-for-Videos via Pixabay #Taiwan #China #Geopolitics #TaiwanStrait #ForeignPolicy #BillEmmott #PerspectivesWithNeilo #USChinaRelations #PLA #CCP #MacGill2025 #GreyZoneWarfare #TaiwanMatters #GlobalSecurity #AsiaPacific