Taiwan shares with Israel and South Korea the distinction of being one of the few countries on earth which have lived with an existential threat from powerful, and sometimes unpredictable, neighbours for many decades.
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The island state lost much of its international status when the United Nations voted to recognise Communist China in October, 1971.
It has, despite this, continued to play a significant role in regional and world affairs and is still formally recognised by 14 UN member states.
Despite its small size, this country of almost 24 million, which China has regarded as a renegade province since October, 1949, has the seventh largest economy in Asia and the 22nd largest economy in the world using PPP-adjusted GDP.
Australia, by comparison, is the 20th largest economy in the world on this standard which takes into account variations in the real purchasing power of individual national currencies.
A legacy state established by the Chinese nationalists who were driven from the mainland by Mao's followers during the civil war, Taiwan, like Australia, has China as its major trading partner.
It is one of the few countries in the region we do not have, and are not in the process of, developing a free trade agreement with.
Attempts to do so were abandoned, reportedly following direct pressure from Beijing.
Taiwan is, in short, an entity this nation cannot and should not ignore.
Australia's delicate balancing act between Taipei and Beijing will get a lot harder following the re-election of the Democratic Progressive Party under President Tsai Ing Wen.
China cut its own contacts with Tsai's government shortly after her election in 2016.
China cut its own contacts with Tsai's government shortly after her election in 2016.
She had been facing likely defeat at this year's poll until the outbreak of pro-independence riots in Hong Kong which reignited Taiwanese nationalism.
Donald Trump has upped the ante in the 70-year standoff between Taiwan and China by increasing US ship movements, including aircraft carriers, through the Taiwan Strait, and encouraging the sale of sophisticated armaments, including F-16s and Abrams tanks, to Taipei.
A key survey, in mid-2019, found only three per cent of Taiwanese favoured immediate reunification.
The election was marred by allegations of dirty tricks on all sides. Tsai's government passed a tough anti-subversion law, targeting Chinese interference, less than a week out from the poll.
China made its presence felt in many ways, one of which was to send it's newest aircraft carrier through the Taiwan Strait twice during the campaign.
President Xi Jinping won't rule out using force to bring Taiwan under Beijing's rule.
Given the importance of Australia's relations with China, the parlous state of that relationship, and our reliance on peace in the region for our own prosperity, the Morrison government will be watching developments closely.
It is to be hoped that while it continues to be assertive in its defence of our own democratic institutions and processes in the year ahead, the government tries to dial back some of the almost xenophobic anti-Chinese rhetoric that erupted from time to time in 2019.
China has shown great restraint over Hong Kong to date. It will soon face additional provocation from Taipei. We can act as a bridge between Beijing and the US but only if we work hard to maintain a strong working relationship with the Middle Kingdom.
