Since the end of the second world war and China's fall to communism, U.S. foreign policy on China and Taiwan has changed.
In 1955, the U.S. and Taiwan took their relations to another level by signing the Sino-American Mutual Defense Treaty that ensured U.S. military intervention in defense of Taiwan in the event of a Chinese invasion.
The mutual defense treaty was in effect until 1980.
According to the Taiwan Relations Act of 1979, "the United States will provide Taiwan with any amount of defense articles and defense services that may be necessary to enable Taiwan to maintain adequate self-defense capabilities."
As a result, the U.S. has sold Taiwan's advanced weaponry, including fighter jets and surface combatants.
In a testimony before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in early December, Ely Ratner, assistant secretary of defense for Indo-Pacific security affairs, said that despite China's claims of peaceful reunification, Beijing had used military threats to achieve its goals.
Ratner said that the leader in Beijing has never renounced military aggression and that it is possible that he will make preparations to unite Taiwan with the PRC (People's Republic of China) and simultaneously seek to reject the intervention of the third party (Taiwan).
During recent testimony to Congress, the Pentagon reaffirmed its commitment to the Taiwan Relations Act but was not formally committed to defending the small island nation, which is in line with the policy of strategic ambiguity that has guided U.S. foreign policy for decades.
The recent report also revealed the presence of U.S. special operations forces in the island nation is training their local counterparts with the skills necessary to fend off a Chinese invasion or demand high costs.
To deter China, the Pentagon is modernizing its capabilities and updating its posture in the Indo-Pacific area of operations, developing new operational concepts along the way.
According to Ratner, the Pentagon's efforts to deter china and improve Taiwan's defenses will not be isolated because countries in the region as well as around the world understand that Taiwan's generation of China can influence them as well.
Taiwan must also develop a strong military capability to increase its deterrence and losses for China in the event of a potential invasion.
Meskipun Taipei telah semakin banyak berinvestasi dalam militernya, masih ada beberapa jalan yang harus ditempuh.
"Asymmetric capabilities, however, are just one part of the prevention equation. Taiwan must complement investments in this critical capability with the same focus on enhancing resilience, supporting civilian-military integration, and building a strategy that includes deep defense," Rutner said.
