The U.S. Arms Policy and Taiwan From the 1970's to the 1990's

Military assistance to Taiwan is essential for Taiwan’s sense of security, but it is also a source of friction with US relations with the PRC. Selling Taiwan an amount of weapons that the PRC considers excessive may lead to increased tensions between both the US and the PRC. Under the TRA, the US still has a degree of obligation in ensuring Taiwanese security. It deems that if US assistance is necessary to maintain peace in the Western Pacific and if Taiwan is forced to make a decision regarding its statehood under non-peaceful means the US will intervene in Taiwan’s affairs. Currently, this is limited to selling defensive weapons, but not providing further military assistance or performing joint drills like those performed in South Korea.

On 26 July 1950, President Harry Truman approved a multi-million dollar military assistance package designed to help the French defeat a strong communist movement in French Indochina. The package included $15 million worth of military equipment and a small number of American military advisors assigned to supervise the flow of tanks, plans, artillery, and other equipment.1 By 1954, the United States government had provided 80% of the war supplies used by the French in Indochina which equated to about $3 billion.2 This marked the beginning of the United States involvement in Southeast Asia and the expansion of the military-industrial complex in America. This paper will explore the role the American military-industrial complex played as part

Nations such as Japan and China had viewed the island of Taiwan as a resource and a collateral component in their immense empires ever since their knowledge of its existence in mid 1400s. The most prominent period in Taiwanese history began after World War II, with the beginning of the Cold War. It was then that Taiwan’s native government was completely dominated by China, demolishing the island’s independence which they would slowly gain back over the next few centuries. The formation of the Relations Act with the United States in 1979 began a process that led to Taiwan’s political separation from China in 1987, establishing a democratic government along with a gain of military support from the West.

* “Almost as soon as the Americans intervened in Korea and the Seventh Fleet entered the Taiwan Strait at the end of June 1950, the CCP’s long-standing suspicion of and hostility toward the United States turned into bellicosity” (Sheng 5).

in the region. America’s presence in Guam and the Philippines and its support of China posed

Before became as a President, in 1967, Nixon had written in a magazine as a President candidate “We simply cannot afford to leave China outside the family of nations”(PBS). The reason Nixon paid so much attention on China was that he foresaw the US, the USSR, China, Western Europe, and Japan would become the major world powers. Being the world’s most populous country, China’s great potential attracted Nixon to rebuild the connection between the East and the West. The growing friction between Beijing and Moscow in the beginning of the 1960s urged the USSR withdrew all their technical supports and industrial projects in China. Nixon saw his chance. He first began to woo China in February 1969; he sent lots of positive messages towards China through third party countries such as Pakistan and Romania (PBS). Nixon’s hard working paid off by the end of 1970—China responded. Nixon successfully warmed up the relationship between China and America by sending a team of Ping Pong players to China to play. This famous political move in US-China history is called “Ping-Pong diplomacy”(PBS). Same year, Nixon sent Kissinger, his National Security Council director, secretly visited China to arrange a visit for him (PBS). Finally, on Feburary21, 1972, Nixon became the world’s focus: he visited China. However, at that time Chairman Mao was under bad health condition, the Premier Chou Enlai greeted Nixon at the airport instead. The opening

In 1972, President Richard Nixon was quoted as stating that his visit to the People’s Republic of China (PRC) “changed the world…to build a bridge across sixteen thousand miles and twenty-two years of hostilities.” By meeting with Chairman Mao Zedong in Beijing, Nixon took groundbreaking first steps to opening relations and formally recognizing the People’s Republic of China. The history of the aforementioned hostilities between the United States and the PRC dates back to the Chinese Communist Party’s takeover of mainland China following its civil war in the

The Pentagon Papers were made public in 1971 after government officials compiled information including General Taylor’s report published in 1964. The details elaborated in this official report are significant in that it is “recommend that the substance of this memorandum be discussed with the Secretary of State.” While General Taylor’s report delves into the depths of the United States’ strategy in Southeast Asia, there are explicit exclusions of the American people’s opinions and tragic effects of military

Before World War II had taken place, Japan and China had started to fight against each other, thus leaving the United States in the middle of the two countries at war. Craving to have relations with China, the United States aided the Chinese against Japan. Japan was not too pleased of the United States backing of China. “The United States was the main supplier of the oil, steel, iron, and other commodities needed by the Japanese military as it became bogged down by Chinese resistance but, in January 1940, Japan abrogated the existing treaty of commerce with the United States.”

Efforts however were made to reconcile Taiwan and China after Mao’s declaration of People's Republic of China or PROC as we know it today. On April 27, 1993, China and Taiwan begun negotiating the various Interpretations of Taiwan’s relationship to China, or the "one­China" principle” (Myers 1). The negotiation however was conducted and represented by third party private agencies. Taiwan was represented by Straits Exchange Foundation or SEF while China was represented Association for Relations across the Taiwan Strait, or ARATS. The negotiation however was short lived and collapse when President Lee Teng­hui visited the US for a public address at Cornell University (Myers 1).

The rapid rise in economy of China has turned this country into rival of America. However, in an effort to change the trade policies of China, stop military operations reinforce Beijing 's South China Sea from America, but that’s not enough improve diplomatic relations with 11 countries in the TPP agreement. Beijing said the United States is a force only in Asia as they want, while China will forever be a force in Asia. As candid statement of the Prime Minister of Singapore Lee Hsien Loong during his visit to Washington last August, the TPP will "challenge the prestige" of the United States with partners in the region. According to Mr. Li, each nation has faced some opposition political and sensitive issue in the country, pay a political price to get to the negotiating table and signed agreements but finally they cannot receive what they want. Now, United State diplomats do not have what they want in Asia, After the US told the regional partners was signed TPP will strengthen America 's leadership position in the region, the regional partner also concluded to be a waiver of TPP would undermine America 's leadership position and China is ready to be leadership position which vacated this area. In terms of the overall situation of power in Asia, the US withdrew from the TPP, that means United State is bringing the beneficial strategy for China, not only because a trade agreement supported by the United States, U.S foreign policies will be disappear forever

In July 2013, Wenweipo - the pro-PRC Chinese-language newspaper published an article titled “Six Wars China is sure to fight in the next 50 years”. According to this article, after unification of Taiwan (year 2020 to 2025), China will take the second war: Reconquest of Spratly Islands (year 2025 to 2030) and “China will send the ultimatum to countries surrounding the Islands with the deadline of 2028. The countries having disputes on the sovereignty of Islands can negotiate with China on preserving their shares of investments in these Islands by giving up”. In 1999, two Chinese military colonels – authors of the book namely “Unlimited War” suggested using an “unlimited war” to solve the disputing in the South China Sea. These authors said that, to avoid a war does not mean that not using military force and a conflict is indispensable. However, there is one more important thing that to control the intensities of conflict that. It is necessary to conduct some special activities to prove the sovereignty of China in the disputing Spratly Islands but do not let this activities increase to the total war. These things prove that the potential war between Vietnam and China in the future could be come true.

This term paper focuses on China-Taiwan relations in terms of One China policy and the Taiwan question. The paper will first provide an overview of the historical background of Beijing-Taipei relations and its ties with the United States. After, we will discuss One China policy and its different interpretations.

The events that have taken place over the past couple of centuries, and more so the past decade, have monumentally impacted the relationship between the United States and China for better and for worse. Today, China and the U.S. have evolved into two of the most elite superpowers in the world, and they classify as some of the most prominent leaders in economics, military, technology, and universal innovation. Currently, the United States is just weeks away from electing their next president, cyber-attacks are being investigated exponentially, and the South China Sea Debate continues to be disputed. The outcomes of all these events will undoubtedly affect the relationship between China and the United States for the next 10 years.

The People’s Republic of China (PRC) has become more integrated and willing to cooperate within the global political and economic systems than ever in its history. However, there is growing apprehension in the Asia-Pacific region and the U.S. in regards to the consequences of rising in economic and military power in China. Descriptions about Chinese diplomacy in the policy and scholarly are less positive lately concerning China’s obedience to regional and international rules. There was little debate in the U.S. and elsewhere in regards to whether China was or was not part “the international community.” Scholars and experts in the early 1990s have contended