Defense of Taiwan is no easy problem in this day and age of warfare. The island province of the Republic of China is only 100 miles - less at the closest point - from the Chinese mainland, and the mainland is where the aggressive Communist regime is found. Attack is not likely to come from the Philippines and not even from Japan in this era. Korea is a friend, not an enemy. The mainland is close - less than five minutes by supersonic jet. That is the only direction from which military blows might fall.
This is clearly recognized in the Mutual Defense Treaty with the United States. Alone of all the military treaties signed by the United States, this agreement commits the American government to provide assistance to the Republic of China against Communist infiltration or subversion. This is recognition of the unique nature of the situation and the need for a treaty that transcends the usual pledge of "you help us and we'll help you in case the bullets start flying."
Is the Republic of China's island province of Taiwan endangered by the Communists? That is rather like asking if it is cold at the North Pole or hot at the equator. When the free Chinese made their way to the bastion of Taiwan as the mainland was falling in 1949, the Communists made every attempt to follow. The island of Kinmen (Quemoy) was brought under attack as a prelude to the attempt to invade Taiwan. But the defenders fought with great courage and the invasion foundered. Nor could it be renewed in the 1958 attack on Kinmen, which was confined to heavy shelling.
Military defenders of Taiwan arrived on the island in 1949 and 1950 intent upon binding up their wounds and returning to fight another day. These were forces which had been severely tried and heavily buffeted but not defeated. President Chiang Kai-shek had wisely foreseen the difficulty and prepared the Taiwan bastion. He knew that there would be many reverses before victory, but this had to be faced and the problems overcome.
American assistance helped rebuild free Chinese forces. Over the years from 1950 to the present, the United States has contributed something like US$3.5 billion to assure that free China will not be swallowed up by tyranny. Today the Republic of China pays its own way for defense hardware. It can buy planes and tanks and warships - and does. There was a time when the free Chinese could not pay. The Americans then sent armaments and advisers. In the 1950s, the American Military Assistance Advisory Group to the Republic of China was the biggest in the world.
This is a debt to the United States that the Republic of China will never forget. There are many stories about the willingness of free China to begin paying that debt during the 1950-1953 Korean War, when the Americans were hard-pressed by the Chinese Communists and finally accepted a stalemate at the approximate line where the war had begun with North Korea's invasion of the south. Essentially, these stories are true, except that the Republic of China was not trying to take advantage of the U.S. predicament in order to better its own position. The military and civilian leadership of the ROC genuinely wanted to help an ally, regardless of the final outcome.
The Americans turned down the offer of the Republic of China's assistance in Korea. That was understandable and has not been held against Americans by the free Chinese people. The United States was embroiled in a war with other Chinese - those who had usurped the mainland. Americans had vague fears of "complicating the issues," as if there could have been a greater complication than having to face the Chinese Communists as well as the North Koreans.
During the Vietnam War, the Republic of China stationed a psychological warfare team in South Vietnam and offered way station assistance to the U.S. Air Force at bases in Taiwan. Maintenance of aircraft was also provided. The Republic of China was not asked to send troops to the Vietnam battleground, presumably because of U.S. apprehension that such involvement might draw Chinese Communists into the fighting. At various times, the leader of the Republic of China made it clear that they would provide assistance to the United States under terms of the Mutual Defense Treaty. In the free Chinese way of thinking, terms of the treaty are not confirm o the Taiwan area but can be applied wherever American freedom and democracy are imperiled.
Today's military forces of the Republic of China are divided into air, sea and land services. Attached to the Navy is a Marine Corps of elite fighters trained and conditioned for amphibious warfare. The size of all military forces is about half a million men and women plus some two million in the ready reserve. These reservists have regular mobilization and training exercises to keep them in trim.
Weaponry of the armed forces is principally of American manufacture plus an increasing component which is made in Taiwan from American or domestic designs. The biggest problem of the military, as elsewhere, is obsolescence. Weapons go out of date almost as fast as they come from arsenals. Modernization was not a big problem for the Republic of China during the 1950s. The old weapons used on the mainland had to be replaced. Americans were glad to help and provide training personnel. Another period of modernization came in the 1960s. Ground-to-air missiles were acquired and their crews trained. The Air Force received improved pursuit planes. Sidewinder air-to-air missiles had been acquired in the 1950s and played an important part in the decisive victory over the Communists at Kinmen in 1958. Progress continued in the 1960s. Although U.S. economic aid was terminated in 1965, military assistance continued through the decade and into the 1970s. Americans who processed the weapons requests of the Republic of China were generally favorable to a steady upgrading of sophistication and capability.
Not until the early 1970s (Richard Nixon made his trip to Peiping in February of 1972) was there an inclination to consider munitions going to the Republic of China in terms of acceptability to the Chinese Communists. Requests for late model aircraft, especially, were no longer given such favorable consideration. Pentagon sentiment in favor of providing the ROC with such weapons sometimes ran afoul of objections from the State Department. At the same time, military aid in grant form was discontinued entirely and loans were reduced. By 1980, the United States will be supplying the Republic of China with no arms that are not paid for in full at the time of delivery. No other ally of the United States is similarly treated in connection with its weapons requirements.
Meanwhile, the Chinese Communist military picture was drastically changed by the death of Mao Tse-tung and the fall of the "gang of four." Suddenly the regime is advocating the modernization of armaments and sending military emissaries to shop for weapons in France, Germany, Belgium and Great Britain. This could immensely complicate the defense situation of Taiwan within the next few years and make responsive modernization absolutely imperative.
Some Americans favoring "normalization of relations" with the Chinese Communists have suggested that the Republic of China is strong enough to defend itself unaided and have said that Red China does not have sufficient amphibious capability to cross the Taiwan Straits. Such a thesis poses great danger to the Republic of China and the defenders of Taiwan.
First, the Chinese Communists already have nuclear capability which is entirely independent of the conventional armed forces. Red China has several systems, and one of these is obviously aimed at Taiwan. It consists of from 50 to 60 medium-range ballistic missiles capable of hitting targets up to 600 or 700 miles from the launching site. Taiwan is a comparatively small place (14,000 square miles) with population and industry concentrated on the west coast opposite continental China. Probably not more than a dozen warheads would be required to knock out the centers of population and production. Red China would not risk its small bomber fleet to get at Taiwan. Those who have said that the Chinese Communists could not aim nuclear-armed missiles at other Chinese do not know the Peiping regime very well. A more likely deterrent than humanitarianism would be the unwillingness of the Communists to destroy plants they hope to take over and people they are seeking to enslave. To hit Taiwan, the Chinese Communists need not think in terms of either intermediate or intercontinental ballistic missiles. If they tried conventional weapons and failed, they would be virtually certain to strike out with nuclear missiles.
It has become commonplace for "normalization" advocates to maintain that the Chinese Communists do not have the amphibious capability to cross the Taiwan Straits. This is not borne out by the facts. Ellis Joffe, associate professor of Chinese studies and international relations at Hebrew University in Jerusalem, estimates that the Chinese Communists have amphibious vessels sufficient to carry a force of 30,000 men and their equipment "in a regional, short-range assault." Support could be given by 400 merchant ships and thousands of coastal junks. Of course, success of such an attack would depend on the ability to gain air and naval control in the theater of operations.
New Hsiung Feng missiles are designed, made in Taiwan.(File photo)
On the seas, Red China has 65 submarines, more than 20 destroyers (some with guided missiles), destroyer escorts, submarine chasers, torpedo boats and other small craft. In the air, the Chinese Communists have some 5,200 aircraft. While many of these planes are obsolete MIG17s and 19s, the sheer weight of numbers is not to be lightly dismissed. Manufacture of a more sophisticated MIG19 was undertaken but production apparently had to be halted because of difficulties with the engines. Jet engines purchased from the British were scheduled for delivery in 1977 or 1978. The Chinese Communists are planning to build this engine on the mainland and use it to power the F9 successor to the MIGI9. The count of mainland MIG21s is placed at around 120. Some have all-weather capability and may be equipped with air-to-air missiles. The Red Chinese air force also has bombers - about 80 TU16s, some TU4 medium bombers, around 400 IL28s and 100 TU2 light bombers. Transport aircraft are counted at some 450 and helicopters at 350. Joffe remarks: " ... the most urgent need of the (Chinese Communist) air force is for a fighter-interceptor with all-weather and night flying capability, armed with air-to-air and air-to-ground missiles, and equipped with sophisticated electronic devices." He might also have been speaking of the needs of the Republic of China's Air Force.
The free Chinese requirements were given attention in the Taiwan and world press in November with the visit to the Republic of China of members of the U.S. House of Representatives Armed Services Committee. This was the first time the committee had come to this country, although it previously has been to Japan and the Republic of Korea and to South Vietnam when the war was in progress there. The expressions of views and the recommendations of the visiting Congressmen will be of importance in the deliberations of the Congress, the Pentagon and the Carter administration.
F5E supersonic fighters are a joint product of the Chinese Air Force and Northrop Aircraft of the U.S.(File photo)
On the eve of the Congressmen's arrival in Taipei, the Carter administration offered to sell 48 additional F5E fighters to the Republic of China but rejected requests for more advanced planes. The new series of F5Es would be equipped with Maverick air-to-ground missiles, giving them the capability of shooting at enemy shipping in the Taiwan Straits. The State Department admitted that the F5Es would have a combat range of only about 150 miles, thus denying them any attack capacity against the Chinese Communists. Washington sources said that in the last six months the Carter administration had denied free Chinese requests for more powerful planes such as the F4, FI6 and F18.
F5ES are currently assembled at a Chinese Air Force-Northrop Aircraft Corporation facility at Taichung in central Taiwan. Two hundred planes will come off the line under a contract expiring in 1980. They are equipped with Sidewinder air-to-air missiles. The order for 48 more F5Es presumably would keep this plant operating into 1984. Proposals for the upgrading of the F5E to the status of F5G reportedly were rejected by President Carter because it would amount to the production of an export airplane that the United States does not need or want. In terms of U.S. weaponry, the F5E is obsolete.
As the 41 members of the Congressional delegation (which also included members of other House committees and of the administration) arrived, the chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, Melvin C. Price, said the decision on an advanced version of the F5E is get to be made by the U.S. government. Defense Minister General Kao Kuei-yuan and other civilian and military leaders of the Republic of China briefed the visitors on the international situation in East Asia and the defense needs of the ROC in upholding its share of responsibility for the defense of the region. The Congressmen and those accompanying them went to an airbase in central Taiwan to see the Chinese Air Force in action and study its position and needs.
Both President Chiang Ching-kuo and Premier Sun Yun-suan met with the visitors. President Chiang said the United States should make modern aircraft available to the Republic of China so it can carry out its share in defending East Asia and the Western Pacific. He expressed belief that the security of the region depends primarily on the military strength of the Republic of China and the Mutual Defense Treaty between this country and the United States. The defense interests of the two countries coincide, President Chiang said, and the Republic of China has been a faithful ally of the United States. Premier Sun stressed the economic cooperation of the United States and the Republic of China. Their trade is surpassing the US$7 billion mark this year, he said, and Taiwan is now No. 12 on the American list of trading partners.
At a press conference concluding the visit, Chairman Price stressed that the "future sale to the Republic of China of F5Gs is an open question." He admitted, however, that the Carter administration's offer of the additional F5Es to the Republic of China had not been discussed with the Armed Services Committee. The need to modernize the Republic of China's Air Force is "really apparent," Price added. The Republic of China is an important nation in this part of the world, he said, and "the United States should continue to be mindful of all its allies in East and Northeast Asia in order to further a policy of peace, stability and equilibrium in the region."
Representative Bob Wilson of California, an Armed Services Committee member, expressed belief the Republic of China may be given permission to produce F5Gs at the Taichung plant. He described the CAF-Northrop installation as "exceptionally efficient and capable of providing one of the most modern aircraft in the world today." Wilson said he did not detect any move by the Carter administration to abrogate the defense treaty with the Republic of China, nor any intention to undermine free China's importance to the region. He cited the strategic importance of Taiwan and said: "We in America are overwhelmingly in favor of your maintenance of freedom and your maintenance of a strong military presence in this area as a means of securing peace for the future."
Another Congressman, Larry McDonald of Georgia, who made the suggestion for an official visit to the Republic of China, said the United States should make F4Es and Fl6s available to the free Chinese defense forces. "You are our traditional ally," he said. "Breaking diplomatic ties and abrogating the treaty with you would make the United States lose credibility." All future U.S. treaties would be held up to question, he said, and the' United States would be ridiculed for sacking one of its best trading partners. "Economically you are a better trading partner than Communist China, which has very little viable economic potential," he said. Citing Taiwan's strategic importance, he added: "Aside from your geographical significance, you serve as a very important communications link in Asia. And by affording a stark contrast to the Communist mainland, Taiwan stands as the symbol of freedom to the people there."
In Tokyo subsequently, Representative Richard White of Texas, the chairman of the Military Personnel Subcommittee of the Armed Services Committee, said the United States should sell the Fl6 to the Republic of China. It is "not an aggressive but rather a defensive weapon," he said. The United States should not abrogate the defense treaty with the Republic of China, he said, and has an obligation to maintain ROC sovereignty.
In the wake of the committee's visit, word came from Harvey Feldman, chief of the Republic of China desk at the State Department and a recent visitor to Taiwan, that the U.S. government is giving favorable consideration to sale of a new type of naval antiaircraft missile to the ROC armed forces. He predicted approval of the free Chinese request. Sale of an antiship missile is still under consideration, he said. The United States has no plan to withdraw all American military personnel from Taiwan, he said, nor to withdraw the Military Assistance Advisory Group or the Taiwan Defense Command. He called attention to U.S. interests in the Republic of China: private investment, Export-Import Bank loans, and scientific and cultural exchange programs. There is a large community of people in the United States, he said, who have either families or relatives or friends in the Republic of China. No one in the Carter administration is proposing the abandonment of Taiwan, he added. "The United States will not abandon Taiwan. The United States has special interests in Taiwan."
Similar sentiments had been expressed earlier by John Cannon, public affairs adviser to the State Department's Bureau of East Asian Affairs. He said he was "not aware" of any plan for large-scale troop reductions in Taiwan, although reiterating the U.S. government's commitment to withdraw forces from the Republic of China as "tensions" are reduced. He declined comment on a press report that U.S. troop strength will be down to 600 by the end of 1978 and that all forces will be withdrawn by the end of 1979.
Testimony to the military importance of the Republic of China came from Admiral Elmo R. Zumwalt Jr., former chief of naval operations of the United States, who said the peace of Asia depends on the Republic of China and Korea as well as the United States, Soviet Union and Japan.
No position papers or briefings could convey the realities of the Taiwan Straits and Taiwan's location just a hundred miles from Communists bent on destroying the Republic of China and communizing Taiwan, said one of Taipei's daily newspapers. The point was well taken. As of today, the Communists are effectively prevented from attempting to cross the Straits, principally by the defense treaty with the United States. If the Chinese Communists were to move against the ROC, they would immediately find themselves involved in a confrontation against the United States. That is the last thing they want, and it has restrained them for three decades - even during a period when they were the Soviet Union's "little brothers" and the Americans were hated "imperialists and aggressors."
As between stronger military forces or maintenance of the defense treaty, many people and leaders in the Republic of China would prefer the U.S. alliance. How many troops, how many airplanes and how many tanks is the treaty worth? The number is countless, because the treaty is a barrier which cannot be equated solely in terms of physical strength. It is also a moral and spiritual commitment and a psychological barrier against Chinese Communist aggression.
The Republic of China has not given up hope that the treaty will be kept in force. Together with Admiral Zumwalt, Representative Price and many other Americans, the people of the Republic of China are convinced that the U.S.-ROC alliance plays a major role in keeping the Pacific peace. At the same time, the free Chinese people have not survived through wishful thinking. Weapons systems take a long time to acquire and install. There is a feeling that the Republic of China should be prepared for any eventuality, and that these weapons should be stronger than those now in place.
If improved weapons are not required because the United States stands by its agreements, that would be most welcome. The free Chinese want peace not war. They believe with the late President Chiang Kai-shek that the China problem will in the end be settled by 70 per cent political means and not more than 30 per cent military action. The Republic of China has not been asking for weapons that would enable it to stand alone. The objective is protection against any miscalculation of the Chinese Communists or any mistake of the United States.
The Republic of China's first line of defense is the Air Force, which is based on old F104 Starfighters and the Taichung-built F5Es. When the F5E contract ends, where does free China turn? If production of the F5E is the only choice provided by the United States, the Republic of China will in the mid-1980s be flying the same airplane that it started making a decade before. Meanwhile, the Chinese Communists will be modernizing. Even in the past, they have not rested their military laurels on one fighter aircraft for a period of 10 years.
Although it is true that after 1980, the F5Es could be equipped with air-to-surface Maverick missiles, this is only a small modification. The refusal to sell the F4, Fl6 or Fl8 to the Republic of China is based on contention that these aircraft have too strong an offensive capability. If the ROC got them, it is argued, the Chinese Communists would be displeased and the Republic of China might be tempted to attack the mainland.
Chinese Communists will object to anything the United States does in its relationship with the Republic of China - except to get out Taiwan and allow Red China to do as it pleases. The Americans could sell the ROC hang gliders or even kites, and the Chinese Communists would complain that these were offensive weapons. Nor does Red China consent to free China having defensive weapons. The "normalization" terms of the Chinese Communists are clear. The United States must sever the mutual defense treaty with the Republic of China and withdraw all its military forces. Red China wants the Americans out of the Taiwan Straits so that it can move on the island whenever it chooses. Furthermore, the Chinese Communists want a weak ROC so Taiwan can be bought cheaply with a minimum of damage to the land they hope to seize and minimum losses to the 17 million they hope to enslave.
Red China has never agreed that the United States should continue to sell weapons to the Republic of China after "normalization of relations." Nor will it ever do so. If the United States means to help free China defend itself, the only intelligent course is to provide access to weapons that are sufficient to do the job. That would mean fighter aircraft with something more than purely defensive power. If the Republic of China were attacked and could not strike back at the aggressor’s bases, its defenses inevitably would be destroyed on the ground.
The ROC does not seek attack planes to start a war in the Taiwan Straits. The objective is a defense so strong that the Chinese Communists would not dare attack. Americans need only consult the record of the last three decades to determine that the Republic of China keeps its word with regard to weaponry. Opportunities to strike at the Chinese Communists were passed up because the United States had asked for the maintenance of a ceasefire in the Taiwan Straits. Even after the Communists attacked Kinmen and Matsu In 1958, the ROC only answered the fire in kind.
If the Republic of China used a weapon offensively and not merely in reply to Chinese Communist aggression, the United States would immediately stop supplying Taiwan with weapons. If it had not "normalized" relations with the Chinese Communists, it could go ahead under pretext that the Republic of China had unilaterally scrapped its U.S. alliance. The ROC would stand to lose everything - including its economic relationship with the United States and its reservoir of American goodwill - in consequence of a premature gesture to settle the China problem by military means.
The long-standing policy of the Republic of China, laid down by the late President Chiang Kai-shek, is for settlement of the China problem by political means. If political preparations are sufficient, there will be little need for the application of military power, except to round up the few hard line ringleaders of Chinese Communism.
The United States has nothing to lose by selling the Republic of China the best and latest weapons at its command. These arms would never be used to make war but only to preserve the peace of the Asian and Pacific region. One of the House committee members spoke of Taiwan's importance in the free Asian defense system. This has been too often overlooked in recent years. Northeast Asia is defended not merely by the United States, Japan and the Republic of Korea, but also by the Republic of China.
Some Americans may wishfully think that the Chinese Communists are now friends of the United States and will never aggress again. This is not a sentiment shared by the military leaders of the United States, whose war plans rank Red China second after the Soviet Union among the regimes most likely to make war on the United States. Americans must be prepared to fight the Russian or the Chinese Communists separately or together. Both are enemies committed to the destruction of the United States and the free and democratic way of life. All American war plans must center around these two antagonists.
In all the world, there is no more valuable ally against the resumption of Red Chinese aggression than the Republic of China, which is not an enemy of the United States, not a potential aggressor against any other country and has important forces and bases to offer in the continuing attempt to keep the region at peace. Any weapons supplied by the United States will protect Americans as well as the free Chinese.
The China News of Taipei summed up the visit of the House committee members in this way: "Apparently the visiting members of the U.S. House of Representatives Armed Services Committee were well satisfied with the presentations of this country's leaders and military establishment. Members who expressed themselves tended to be friendly and sympathetic. This visit has solidified the Republic of China's standing with one of the most important committees in the U.S. Lower House.
"Incredibly, this was the first time the Armed Services Committee had come to Taiwan, although from time to time some of its members have attested to the great military importance of the Republic of China. Has the omission of Taiwan as a destination been our fault or that of the United States and the Congress? We don't know. This country is always glad to receive Americans and especially members of the Congress. But the United States is big, populous and extremely complex.
"These days it is sometimes said that Americans have government by lobby. That is, only lobbyists can successfully get their views across to the legislature and the administration. Some countries spend a great deal of money on their U.S. lobbies. We haven't, believing that it wasn't necessary. The Chinese Communists are spending huge sums on U.S. operations. Should we try to compete? It is all very well to say that so long as right is on our side, we have no need to hire tub-thumpers. The fact remains that the noisy wheel is very likely to get the attention.
"Until the Chinese Communists came along, there was never a Chinese lobby. That term was attached to some American friends of the Republic of China at one time. They tried to help us as a result of their friendship and convictions. They were never in our pay. Now the Chinese Communists have a lobby which depends both on paid operatives and American Communists, other leftists and sympathizers. It is highly organized and extremely active. If the 'China problem' is brought up anywhere in the United States, representatives of the Chinese Communist lobby are on hand to represent the Peiping regime's position. We ought to be doing more to make our positions clear. All too often the Republic of China's side is not stated because no one is on hand to speak for us.
"Some encouraging words were spoken by individual members of the House Military Services Committee. The chairman, Representative Melvin C. Price, noted the importance of the Republic of China's contributions to free Asian defense. So did Representative Bob Wilson of California. There was general agreement that the Chinese Air Force needs more modem planes to carry out its assignment of repulsing aggression in the Taiwan Straits. This is an area in which committee members could be immensely helpful. They have the ear of the Pentagon and the Carter administration.
"To the best of our knowledge, the U.S. military establishment favors selling improved weapons to the Republic of China. The foot-dragging involves the administration, and that is because the Chinese Communists wouldn't like it. In fact, the Chinese Communists are not going to like anything which implies a continuing relationship between the United States and the Republic of China. Their goal is to smash the U.S.-ROC relationship. Only when that has been done will the Communists of the mainland dare move against Taiwan.
"Free China must continue to oppose U.S. 'normalization of relations' with the Chinese Communists. We are not merely defending our self-interest. We sincerely believe that 'normalization' would be tragic for the United States and the free countries of Asia. The inevitable result would be war in our part of the world. However, with or without 'normalization,' the Republic of China needs strengthened defenses no less than do South Korea and Japan. If Taiwan is weakly defended, the Chinese Communists will be tempted to hit this island. The United States accepts the necessity of a strong South Korea to keep the North Koreans from aggressing. Why should not precisely the same reasoning apply to Taiwan and the Chinese Communists?
"Our visitors from the House Armed Services Committee have focused attention on the Taiwan defense problem and the deficiencies of the Republic of China's armed forces. This is the time to keep this important subject alive, looking forward to insistence by the new 96th Congress that the Carter administration sell us more and better weapons."
President Chiang Ching-kuo has been a prime mover in efforts to give the Republic of China's defenders the best weapons available. As defense minister under President Chiang Kai-shek, he initiated a modernization program that brought training of all three services up to date. American advisers credit the soldiers, sailors and airmen of the Republic of China with being among the best in the world. Morale is high. Commitment is absolute. Courage in unsurpassed.
However, in the warfare of today, David will have no chance against Goliath. He will never get within range. So the Republic of China - with President Chiang Ching-kuo as its foremost spokesman - has sought the "tools to do the job." The use of terms such as "defensive" and "offensive" is an exercise in semantics rather than of military science. Weapons that are defensive in one situation may be used offensively in another. If the British and their allies had not invaded Europe in 1944, the Nazis on the Continent would have invaded England.
The China problem must be solved not only for the good of the Chinese people but to keep the peace of Asia and the Pacific. Leaders and people of the Republic of China are dedicated to the principle that this can be done through strength and patience. That will require a Republic of China which can prevent aggression by the Chinese Communists and keep the fires of war out of the Taiwan Straits.
Free China does not ask for anything it is not prepared to pay for. Nor does it seek the involvement of U.S. fighting men in another Asian conflict - insular or continental. America will safeguard its own interests and the peace of its other allies in East Asia by assuring that the defender of the Republic of China can play their full part in the defense of the region. This is all the Republic of China asks: the right of free survival and the chance to keep its obligations to others, including the long-suffering people of the Chinese mainland.