Abstract
Through a powerful and influential economy, protection from the US, and its strong defensive military capabilities, Taiwan has been able to prevent the People's Republic of China (PRC) from encroachment and subjugation. Despite the PRC having a larger population, military, and economy than Taiwan, with the proper circumstances Taiwan can remain untouchable, no matter how big the imbalance of power between the two countries seems to be. Economic deterrence, political incentives, and military support stand firm against China's looming threats of invasion. Through this process, given the right position and global circumstances, even a small island can stand up to a global superpower.
Introduction
History is seen through the scope of massive empires that can defeat anyone in their path, however, much smaller opponents can be able to compete against impossible odds. One of these cases is Taiwan, which separated from mainland China after the Chinese Nationalist Party lost a civil war against the Chinese Communist Party. Chiang Kai Shek, leader of the losing ROC, fled to Taiwan with what was left of his nationalist party. Both China and Taiwan want to unite all of China under their terms, but neither has succeeded despite the People’s Republic of China being many times larger than Taiwan in size, population, economy, and military. Due to a strong defensive position, unprecedented economic success, incentives to maintain peace, and strong US support, Taiwan has been able to resist the PRC and remain a powerful and independent nation.
1. Military-edge
One reason that Taiwan can resist the PRC is because of its strong defensive capabilities and location, however, its edge is quickly diminishing. The Taiwanese military is much better equipped and trained on a man-to-main basis compared to the PLA, however, it is much smaller despite aggressive conscription and large reserve forces. Taiwan is also an island 100 miles from the Chinese coast, with many cliffs along its coastline. (Schuster) This prevents China’s massively more powerful ground forces from being effective in an invasion of Taiwan. Air superiority is extremely vital in the China-Taiwan conflict because since Taiwan is an island, the PRC would need to land an invading force by crossing the Taiwan Strait, which can not be done without controlling the skies. (Schuster) Taiwan had a much more advanced air force than the PRC making them safe from attack however as more and more nations began to recognize the PRC over the ROC as the official Chinese government, they stopped selling arms to Taiwan and instead supplied the PRC with new, cutting-edge aircraft. (Schuster) Despite this diminishing technological advantage, Taiwan’s military can keep up with modern times because even after the US recognized the PRC diplomatically it continued selling arms to Taiwan. (“President Reagan's”) With arms from the most powerful military force on the planet, Taiwan does not fall behind in military technology. Through its modern military and strategic location, Taiwan can deter attacks by the PRC.
2. Economic strength Another way that Taiwan can keep up with the PRC is through its economic strength. Taiwan's economy prospered after its war with the PRC. By 1995 it was the world’s 13th-largest economy and a massive trade and manufacturing hub. Some of their most important industries were fishing and food processing (Perkins) This was the result of a huge economic boom in the 1960s that allowed them to industrialize and catapulted their economy into a huge success quickly. (Teng) A strong and globally significant economy is vital to Taiwan because it means Taiwan’s fate affects the entire world, preventing it from quietly being taken without any other nations minding. An invasion of Taiwan would result in the destruction or incapacitation of much of its industrial capabilities, severely hurting the global economy. Taiwan’s economy further secures its position through its huge stake in modern semiconductor manufacturing. Semiconductor chips are necessary for modern technology, including military technology, making them vital for the world economy. The Taiwanese Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TMSC) makes up a huge portion of the world’s semiconductor manufacturing. (Sueyoshi) A lot of research and development of semiconductor chips takes place in the USA and they are then manufactured in Taiwan, creating a US dependence on the Taiwanese industrial capability. (Sueyoshi) Any attempted PRC assault or sabotage against Taiwan could damage their extremely expensive semiconductor manufacturing facilities, something which the US would not allow. By making Taiwan an important part of an interconnected world through its growing and powerful economy in addition to its dominance in the vital semiconductor market, Taiwan is protected from any attempt of the PRC to subjugate or otherwise influence it.
3. Alliances. The final major factor in Taiwan’s ability to deter invasion from the PRC is consistent and direct support from the USA. The US signed a defensive pact with Taiwan to agree to defend each other from communist attacks because they were afraid of communist expansion after the Chinese and Korean civil wars. (Fitzsimmons) After the Chinese civil war ended and Chairman Mao passed away, Deng Xiaoping took over the PRC and heavily reformed it, opening it up to the rest of the world. As a result, much of the world switched who they recognized as the real China from the ROC to the PRC, including the US. When the US cut its diplomatic ties to Taiwan and began diplomacy with the PRC, it gave Taiwan a list of six assurances, including that the US would not be ending arms sales to Taiwan, and that the US would not try to force reunification of China. ("President Reagan's”) These assurances showed the USA’s dedication to being an ally of Taiwan. It also showed that even though the US and most of the world were forced to cut diplomatic ties with Taiwan, the US did not stop protecting Taiwan from the PRC. After recognizing the PRC as legitimate China, the US passed an act dedicating itself to being friendly with the Taiwanese people and also allowing it to have unofficial relations with Taiwan despite the UN and its members have to cut official diplomatic ties with Taiwan. (Perkins) The US showed itself as forever an ally of Taiwan despite negotiating with the PRC showing their dedication and support of Taiwan. In the Taiwan Relations Act, the US also gave insurance to loans and investments made in Taiwan by private investors. (“Taiwan Relations Act”) By heavily investing in the Taiwanese economy, the US helped make sure its ally was financially secure and boosted its economy, greatly helping Taiwan. After the official recognition of the PRC as legitimate China, fewer and fewer countries would sell arms to Taiwan, making it much harder for Taiwan to keep its military at the cutting edge of technology, however, the US continued to be its essentially sole provider of modern military technology, stopping its military from falling into irrelevance. (Schuster) in the 1960s when China announced that war games were to be held near Taiwan, the US repositioned an aircraft carrier to be closer to the Taiwan Strait. (“US Aircraft Carrier”) This showed that the US was dedicated to defending Taiwan, so much so that they would send an aircraft carrier as a response only to war games to deter any ideas that Taiwan was vulnerable. Later when then-president George W. Bush was questioned, he said that the US did not support any change in the Taiwan-China situation and wanted them to remain neutral, avoiding all conflict. (“George W. Bush”) Throughout Taiwan’s entire modern history, the US’s consistent and direct support helped Taiwan maintain its place in the world even when competing with one of the world’s most powerful nations.
Works Cited
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