Over the weekend, Taiwan elected a new president. This was a race that was watched incredibly closely by leaders in Washington and Canberra, for the ripple effect that it will have on so much of the world.

Because the president-elect, Lai Ching-te, is precisely the person China didn’t want to win. His campaign was centered on attacks against Beijing, and its plans to unify with the island. 

So, will Taiwan’s new president bring his nation closer to “war and decline”, as China has claimed? 

Today, North Asia correspondent Eryk Bagshaw, on why what happens on a small island half the size of Scotland has the power to affect not only the global economy, but the safety of millions.