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Threats to Taiwan’s Security
This paper will focus on the military threat facing Taiwan, whose status as a
sovereign state is weakly supported in the international community; as the Republic of
China, it confronts the most basic of threats to its security: a very large, powerful
neighbor is determined to deprive it of its right to exist. There are, to be sure, other
concerns that Taipei probably considers “threats,” such as encroachments into areas of
traditional fisheries or other maritime resources, control of the airspace defined by the
ROC Air Defense and Identification Zone (ADIZ), protection of its citizens traveling
overseas, and so forth. But none of these are as serious as the threat posed by the PRC’s
determination to unite the island with the mainland, regardless of the wishes of Taiwan’s
people or those of its primary ally, the United States, and those of the more than two
dozen nations that recognize the island’s sovereignty. Since all of these countries tat
formally recognize the ROC are small, poor, and militarily weak, none are in a position to
assist in Taiwan’s defense.
Examining the threat will serve to frame later discussion of the steps Taiwan is
taking to counter it. How is the ROC preparing to face the dynamic, increasing Chinese
military poised just 100 miles away? How do the military strengths of the PRC and the
ROC compare, and what policies are Beijing and Taipei pursuing?
The former insists that Taiwan is a province of the PRC; the latter insists that the
ROC is an independent country. This seemingly intractable situation may well result in
military confrontation. Beijing is acting on this possibility, modernizing its large and
already capable military. The air force and navy, especially the latter’s submarine force,
Convention