One-China diplomacy does not guarantee wartime support

Support for peaceful reunification does not establish how a government would respond to an invasion. Diplomatic language can accompany extensive trade with both China and Taiwan. Small states also have reasons to resist a precedent in which a larger neighbor absorbs a smaller one by force. Portugal illustrates the argument: formal recognition statements are set beside its interest in protecting its own independence. Its wartime use of the Anglo-Portuguese alliance to justify British access to the Azores shows how diplomatic commitments and practical choices can interact.