Taiwan's Threat Perceptions: The Enemy Within
Abstract
The People's Republic of China (PRC), which perpetually pressures Taiwan to negotiate unification on Beijing's terms, obviously dominates Taipei's strategic landscape. Few in Taiwan, however, expect the PRC to attempt to conquer the island through an overt military attack in the foreseeable future. This paper, based largely on interviews conducted with Taiwan officials and scholars in 2002, argues that the main security threats Taiwan's elite perceive do not involve direct military attack from across the Taiwan Strait. The threats Taiwan perceives stemming from China's hostility are principally political and economic rather than military. Furthermore, many of Taiwan's intelligentsia lament that due to internal weaknesses, Taiwan is not making its strongest possible preparation to wishstand these challenges. While China's relative power is expected to grow, Taiwan is underachieving due to inability to settle several basic but difficult issues. There internal weaknesses - including vulnerability to Chinese psychological warfare, lack of consensus on the cross-Strait relationship, a defense structure that needs coherence and reform, and an economy that may lack the infrastructure necessary for continued prosperity - could indeed make Taiwan more vulnerable to a PRC attack in the future, but more importantly they call into question Taiwan's future political and economic vitality.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Mar 01, 2003
- Accession Number
- AD1032666
Entities
People
- Denny Roy
Organizations
- Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies