Why One China statements do not guarantee wartime support

Formal One China language does not specify what a government would do during an invasion. A state may support peaceful reconciliation yet condemn force, remain neutral, or help Taiwan while preserving its diplomatic formulas. Portugal's conduct during the Second World War provides the analogy: diplomatic relations with other states coexisted with practical support for the Allies. The level of assistance a government would actually provide matters more to this assessment than the number of states repeating a recognition formula. Smaller countries also have reasons to oppose territorial conquest, since arguments based on historical links or populations could threaten their own relations with larger neighbors.