Taiwan's Foreign and Defense Policies

The findings of this study on the foreign and defense policies of Taiwan can be divided into three sections: (1) overall assessment; (2) influences; and (3) future trajectories and implications for U.S. policy. Overall Assessment Taiwan's foreign and defense policies are principally focused on maintaining the security and prosperity of the territory of Taiwan and its 23 million inhabitants, in the context of a precarious and rapidly changing domestic and external environment. This environment is marked by three major features: * The large and growing political and military threat to Taiwan's security posed by an increasingly capable Mainland Chinese regime, complicated by Taiwan's growing economic ties with the Mainland and a variety of strong ethnic and cultural connections. * The relatively weak level of political and military assistance provided to Taiwan by foreign powers, combined with Taiwan's growing economic, social, and cultural involvement in the Asia-Pacific and beyond. * A highly fluid domestic political and social situation, arising primarily from the ongoing democratization of Taiwan's political process, generational turnover within its society, and the growing prosperity of Taiwan's populace. The above three basic features of Taiwan's security environment have produced a specific set of broad national security objectives and related foreign and defense policies. The Republic of China (RCC) government has five core national security objectives: * To maintain domestic support as an open and democratic polity representing the interests and aspirations of the majority of the Taiwan population. * To sustain popular confidence in the ability of the government to protect Taiwan's physical security and to ensure Taiwan's continued prosperity in the face of a growing Chinese threat.