Deter, Defend, Repel, and Partner: A Defense Strategy for Taiwan

A report of the Taiwan policy working group.

The Taiwan Policy Working Group, under the leadership of AEI’s Dan Blumenthal and the Project 2049 Institute’s Randall Schriver and Mark Stokes, has just issued a new report: Deter, Defend, Repel, and Partner: A Defense Strategy for Taiwan. In this report, the authors demonstrate that, though cross-Strait tensions have been significantly reduced under the Ma Ying-jeou administration, Taiwan’s defense establishment continues to fulfill a vital role in allowing the people on Taiwan to make their own choices about the island’s future.

Over the past thirty years, the People’s Republic of China (PRC) has become a nation of increasing wealth, power, and international stature. The PRC’s stated ambition to unify Taiwan with China has neither changed nor slackened, and the People’s Liberation Army has pursued capabilities intended to coerce Taiwan into a settlement while preventing U.S. intervention. In short, Taiwan faces one of the world’s most daunting security challenges.

What are Taiwan’s strategic objectives? How can Taiwan’s military best contribute to achieving those goals? What threats and contingencies should the military prepare for? Given the cross-Strait imbalance in military resources, how can Taiwan hope to deter and, if necessary, defeat mainland aggression? What role should the United States and other international partners play in Taiwan’s defense strategy?

Earlier this year, the Taiwan Policy Working Group set out to answer these questions and to craft a new defense strategy for Taiwan. This study group, composed of both regional and defense experts, held a series of meetings to consider Taiwan’s security challenges, its military objectives and missions, and its force requirements. At this event, Blumenthal, Schriver, and Stokes will present the group’s findings and William Murray, of the Naval War College, will respond. AEI’s Gary J. Schmitt will moderate.

9:15 a.m.
Registration

9:30
Panelists:
DAN BLUMENTHAL, AEI
RANDALL SCHRIVER, Project 2049 Institute
MARK STOKES, Project 2049 Institute

Discussant:
WILLIAM  MURRAY, Naval War College

Moderator:
GARY J. SCHMITT, AEI

11:00
Adjournment