Taiwan is a democratic partner that the United States has pledged to support. That support takes on escalating importance as Taiwan faces a rapidly rising threat from Beijing. But the U.S. government must proceed cautiously as it frames how best to provide that support. Miscalculation carries great danger: undesired war and the corollary risk of American bodies at the bottom of the East China Sea.

Risk management, then, should be the rule of America’s evolving strategy here. But that’s not to say America should flee from risk. Indeed, the U.S. must be willing to entertain more fury from China to help secure Taiwan. That means boosting Taiwan’s ability to deter invasion, and supporting an alliance of nations in Taiwan’s support.