Taiwan’s National Defense Development in the President Chiang Ching-kuo Era, 1978-1988: Reorganizing the Military for Homeland Defense and Maintaining the Mission to Retake the Mainland

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  • 蔣経国の総統期における国防建設（1978～1988）――「台湾防衛」型の軍隊への改編と残存する「大陸反攻」の任務――
  • ショウケイコク ノ ソウトウキ ニ オケル コクボウ ケンセツ(1978~1988) : 「 タイワン ボウエイ 」 カタ ノ グンタイ エ ノ カイヘン ト ザンソン スル 「 タイリク ハンコウ 」 ノ ニンム

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Abstract

<p>After diplomatic relations were broken off between the US and the Government of the Republic of China (GRC) in January 1979, the US enacted the Taiwan Relations Act, which provided the GRC with a modicum of assurance from the US about the defense of Taiwan. However, unlike the Sino-American Mutual Defense Treaty, the Act did not obligate the US to defend Taiwan. Therefore, President Chiang Ching-kuo assumed that the GRC would have to defend Taiwan on its own, and the Republic of China (ROC) Armed Forces, which had maintained the posture of retaking the mainland, was reformed into a military for homeland defense. The “defensive” weapons provided under the provisions of the Act were selected at the discretion of the US, and were therefore not always appropriate for the needs of the GRC. Accordingly, the GRC defrayed its costs through a massive reduction in army forces, which remained steeped in the ideology of retaking the mainland. The GRC then proceeded to modernize the military by establishing an independent development and production system for weapons in addition to procuring them from outside the US. Forced to respond to the expiration of the Sino-American Mutual Defense Treaty—the biggest security crisis that the nation had faced—President Chiang Ching-kuo practically “abandoned” the mission of retaking the mainland. However, as the military strategy of unity of offensive and defensive remained, the ROC Armed Forces were transformed into a military for the defense of Taiwan, with a mission to retake the mainland based on this strategy.</p>

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  • Ajia Keizai

    Ajia Keizai 62 (1), 2-33, 2021-03-15

    Institute of Developing Economies, Japan External Trade Organization

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