Editing Taiwan (section)

===Military===
{{Main|Republic of China Armed Forces}}
{{See also|Military history of Taiwan|Republic of China Military Academy}}

[[File:20200210 F16vsH6K Taiwan.jpg|thumb|A Taiwanese [[General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon|F-16]] fighter jet flies next to a Chinese [[Xian H-6|H-6]] bomber (top) in Taiwan's [[Air defense identification zone|ADIZ]].]]
The [[Republic of China Armed Forces]] takes its roots in the [[National Revolutionary Army]], which was established by [[Sun Yat-sen]] in 1924 in [[Guangdong]] with a goal of reunifying China under the Kuomintang. When the [[People's Liberation Army]] won the Chinese Civil War, much of the National Revolutionary Army retreated to Taiwan along with the government. The 1947 Constitution of the ROC reformed it into the Republic of China Armed Forces, making it the national army rather than the army of a political party. Units which surrendered and remained in mainland China were either disbanded or incorporated into the People's Liberation Army.

From 1949 to the 1970s, the primary mission of the Taiwanese military was to "retake mainland China" through Project National Glory. As this mission has transitioned away from attack because the relative strength of the PRC has massively increased, the ROC military has begun to shift emphasis from the traditionally dominant Army to the [[Republic of China Air Force|air force]] and [[Republic of China Navy|navy]]. Control of the armed forces has also passed into the hands of the civilian government.<ref name=towards>{{cite journal|last=Fravel|first=M. Taylor|title=Towards Civilian Supremacy: Civil-Military Relations in Taiwans's Democratization|journal=Armed Forces & Society|year=2002|volume=29|issue=1|pages=57–84|doi=10.1177/0095327X0202900104|s2cid=146212666 |url=https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/510e/42aa20fb53c1a69b45b48b0b55b34117b361.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200212081044/https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/510e/42aa20fb53c1a69b45b48b0b55b34117b361.pdf|archive-date=12 February 2020}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB988242686540854310?mod=googlewsj |title=Committed to Taiwan |newspaper=The Wall Street Journal|date= 26 April 2001|access-date=28 May 2009}}</ref>

The ROC began a series of force reduction plans since the 1990s to scale down its military from a level of 450,000 in 1997 to 380,000 in 2001.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.gio.gov.tw/taiwan-website/5-gp/yearbook/2004/P101.htm |title=Taiwan Yearbook 2004 |publisher=Government Information Office, Republic of China |access-date=28 May 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120106230514/http://www.gio.gov.tw/taiwan-website/5-gp/yearbook/2004/P101.htm |archive-date=6 January 2012}}</ref> {{As of|2021}}, the total strength of the Armed Forces is capped at 215,000 with 90 percent manning ratio for volunteer military.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.mnd.gov.tw/NewUpload/%E6%AD%B7%E5%B9%B4%E5%9C%8B%E9%98%B2%E5%A0%B1%E5%91%8A%E6%9B%B8%E7%B6%B2%E9%A0%81%E5%B0%88%E5%8D%80/%E6%AD%B7%E5%B9%B4%E5%9C%8B%E9%98%B2%E5%A0%B1%E5%91%8A%E6%9B%B8%E5%B0%88%E5%8D%80.files/%E5%9C%8B%E9%98%B2%E5%A0%B1%E5%91%8A%E6%9B%B8-110/110%E5%B9%B4%E5%9C%8B%E9%98%B2%E5%A0%B1%E5%91%8A%E6%9B%B8-%E8%8B%B1%E6%96%87%E7%89%88.pdf|title=ROC National Defense Report 2021|pages=64, 116|website=Ministry of National Defense, R.O.C.|date=October 2021|access-date=27 August 2022}}</ref> [[Conscription in Taiwan|Conscription]] remains universal for qualified males reaching age eighteen, but as a part of the reduction effort many are given the opportunity to fulfill their draft requirement through alternative service.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/729500.stm |title=Asia-Pacific {{pipe}} Military alternative in Taiwan |work=BBC News |date=1 May 2000 |access-date=28 May 2009}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/taiwan-extend-compulsory-military-service-official-media-2022-12-27/|title=Taiwan to extend conscription to one year, citing rising China threat|work=Reuters|date=27 December 2022|access-date=28 December 2022}}</ref> The military's reservists is around 2.5&nbsp;million including first-wave reservists numbered at 300,000 {{As of|2022|lc=y}}.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2022/02/27/2003773863|title=Relax rules to boost reservist numbers: lawmakers|work=Taipei Times|date=27 February 2022|access-date=27 August 2022}}</ref> Taiwan's [[Military budget|defense spending]] as a percentage of its GDP fell below three percent in 1999 and had been trending downwards over the first two decades of the twenty-first century.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://milex.sipri.org/sipri|title=SIPRI Military Expenditure Database|work=SIPRI|access-date=28 December 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite thesis|type=PhD|last=Li|first=Steven X.|date=2020|title=Why So Little? The Curious Case of Taiwan's Defense Spending|publisher=University of Washington|url=https://digital.lib.washington.edu/researchworks/handle/1773/46343|access-date=27 August 2022}}</ref> The ROC government pledged to raise the spending as high as proposed three percent of GDP.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://international.thenewslens.com/article/84504|title=Opinion: Taiwan Must Come to its Own Defense|website=The News Lens|date=1 December 2017|access-date=27 August 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/front/archives/2018/07/16/2003696762|title=Defense budget fails to meet Tsai campaign pledge|work=Taipei Times|date=16 July 2018|access-date=27 August 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://focustaiwan.tw/politics/202502140007|title=Lai pledges to raise Taiwan's defense spending to over 3% of GDP|work=Focus Taiwan|date=24 February 2025|access-date=27 February 2025}}</ref> In 2024, Taiwan proposed 2.45 percent of projected GDP in defense spending for the following year.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/front/archives/2024/08/23/2003822636|title=Defense spending to top NT$640 billion|work=Taipei Times|date=23 August 2024|access-date=27 February 2025}}</ref>

[[File:05.25 總統視導漢光33號演習 (34750802021).jpg|thumb|The [[Han Kuang Exercise]] is an annual military exercise by the [[Republic of China Armed Forces|ROC Armed Forces]] in preparation for a possible attack from the PRC.]]

The ROC and the United States signed the Sino-American Mutual Defense Treaty in 1954, and established the [[United States Taiwan Defense Command]]. About 30,000 US troops were stationed in Taiwan, until the United States established diplomatic relations with the PRC in 1979.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Shortall|first1=Dominick|last2=Johnson|first2=Jesse|date=28 October 2020|title=Once unimaginable, some now debating return of U.S. forces to Taiwan|url=https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2020/10/28/asia-pacific/us-forces-taiwan-china/|access-date=6 January 2021|website=The Japan Times|language=en-US}}</ref> A significant amount of military hardware has been bought from the United States, and continues to be legally guaranteed by the [[Taiwan Relations Act]].<ref name="TRA-review" /> France and the Netherlands have also sold military weapons and hardware to the ROC, but they almost entirely stopped in the 1990s under pressure of the PRC.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ceri-sciencespo.com/archive/july01/jpcabest.pdf|title=France's Taiwan Policy: A Case of Shopkeeper Diplomacy|last=Cabestan|first=Jean-Pierre|year=2001|publisher=CERI|access-date=5 June 2009|quote=By excluding the French companies from the bidding lists of many contract, Peking wanted above all to stop a growing trend{{nbsp}}... to disregard its objections and interests in the Taiwan issue.{{nbsp}}... In spite of the ban of arms sales to Taiwan approved by the French government in January 1994, discreet and small-sized deals have continued to be concluded since then. }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2004-09-24-taiwan_x.htm |title=Taiwan trying to shore up weapons support |newspaper=USA Today |date=24 September 2004 |access-date=28 May 2009}}</ref>

There is no guarantee in the Taiwan Relations Act or any other treaty that the United States will defend Taiwan, even in the event of invasion.<ref>{{Cite news|title=China Threat to Attack Taiwan Alarms Asia |date=14 March 2005 |agency=Associated Press |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050411032736/http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=%2Fn%2Fa%2F2005%2F03%2F14%2Finternational%2Fi003051S91.DTL |url=http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2005/03/14/international/i003051S91.DTL |archive-date=11 April 2005 }}</ref> The joint declaration on security between the US and Japan signed in 1996 may imply that Japan would be involved in any response. However, Japan has refused to stipulate whether the "area surrounding Japan" mentioned in the pact includes Taiwan.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Kapstein|first=Ethan B. |author2=Michael Mastanduno |title=Unipolar politics|publisher=Columbia University Press|page=194|isbn=978-0-231-11309-0|url={{GBurl|id=68s2k0ztkCMC|p=194}}|year=1999|quote=The Japanese leadership openly split on whether a crisis in Taiwan was included in the geographic expression "area surrounding Japan." In the event, Japan refused to stipulate the contingencies under which it would provide rear area support for U.S. forces or even the geographic scope of the "area surrounding Japan".{{nbsp}}... The two sides have not articulated clearly what the alliance stands ''for'', nor who it is defined to protect ''against''.}}</ref> The [[Australia, New Zealand, United States Security Treaty]] (ANZUS Treaty) may mean that other US allies, such as Australia, could be involved.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Tow |first=William |year=2005 |title=ANZUS: Regional versus Global Security in Asia? |journal=International Relations of the Asia-Pacific |volume=5 |issue=2 |pages=197–216 |doi= 10.1093/irap/lci113 }}</ref><ref name="sei21">{{cite news |title=China reacts to Peter Duttons 'jaw-dropping' promise to defend Taiwan |first=Jamie |last=Seidel |date=31 October 2021 |work=news.com.au |publisher=Nationwide News |url=https://www.news.com.au/technology/innovation/military/china-reacts-to-peter-duttons-jawdropping-promise-to-defend-taiwan/news-story/3644a042edd36c1b141a38017acf61e3 |access-date=13 November 2021 |quote=The Republic of China autocracy-turned-democracy didn't surrender to the Communist Party uprising during the 1949 civil war. It has no intention of doing so now. Now Taipei's own defence minister, Chiu Kuo-cheng, says his country is prepared to defend itself alone, if necessary. "The country must rely on itself," he told media Thursday. "If any friends or other groups can help us, then we're happy to have it. But we cannot completely depend on it." }}</ref> While this would risk damaging economic ties with China,<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2004/07/13/1089694360063.html|title=China and Taiwan: flashpoint for a war|date=14 July 2004|newspaper=The Sydney Morning Herald|access-date=13 June 2009}}</ref> a conflict over Taiwan could lead to an economic blockade of China by a greater coalition.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Mirski |first1=Sean |title=Stranglehold: The Context, Conduct and Consequences of an American Naval Blockade of China |url=https://carnegieendowment.org/posts/2013/02/stranglehold-the-context-conduct-and-consequences-of-an-american-naval-blockade-of-china?lang=en |website=Carnegie Endowment for International Peace |publisher=Journal Of Strategic Studies |access-date=15 January 2021}}</ref><ref name="chinas_fear_2019_04_30_reuters">{{cite news |last1=Lague |first1=David |last2=Kang Lim |first2=Benjamin |date=30 April 2019 |title=China's fear of an American blockade |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-army-blockade/chinas-fear-of-an-american-blockade-idUSKCN1S6140 |access-date=15 January 2021 |website=[[Reuters]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Axe |first1=David |title=To Defeat China In War, Strangle Its Economy: Expert |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidaxe/2020/08/24/to-defeat-china-in-war-strangle-its-economy/ |website=Forbes |access-date=15 January 2021 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Williams |title=After "the War that Never Was"—The Real Beginning |url=https://www.usni.org/magazines/proceedings/2020/september/after-war-never-was-real-beginning |website=U.S. Naval Institute |access-date=15 January 2021 |language=en |date=29 September 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Mehra |first1=Jyotsna |title=The Australia-India-Japan-US Quadrilateral: Dissecting the China Factor |url=https://www.orfonline.org/research/the-australia-india-japan-us-quadrilateral/ |access-date=15 January 2021 |website=[[Observer Research Foundation]]}}</ref>