The compromise reached in 1979 contained important concessions for China. In addition, the United States abrogated its defense pact with Taiwan. Ambiguity has also served the interests of Japan, because a U.S. defense of Taiwan would probably involve the U.S. base in Okinawa, Japan. There are clear, potentially major implications for our alliance with Japan of a firm U.S. commitment to use all available means to defend Taiwan. China reportedly postponed a visit to Japan by Li Peng, the Chinese Communist Party's second-ranking official, and increased the number of ships doing surveillance off Japan's coast.
Some conservatives argue that strategic ambiguity is an anachronism.
Since 1979, Taiwan has become a democracy and China has modernized its military, and for the United States to say that intervention would depend on circumstances is no longer enough, said Joseph A. Bosco, who teaches at Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service. If the game was to keep them guessing and keep them from doing anything rash, it has just the opposite effect.