The challenge for the U.S. is to maintain diplomatic relations with China while meeting the commitments under the Taiwan Relations Act. “The fundamental problem is not the Chinese weapon or China’s strategy. The fundamental problem is political…We don’t even recognize the Republic of China, which is Taiwan’s official name, we don’t even recognize it as a real country,” said Ian Easton, a research fellow at the Project 2049 Institute, where he conducts research on defense and security issues in Asia.