ABSTRACT
China’s military threat to Taiwan has been a grave and constant concern for people in Taiwan ever since the Nationalist Government retreated to Taiwan in 1949. At the time, the fall of Taiwan to the Chinese communist force appeared imminent and unavoidable. However, fortunately for Taiwan, the Korean War broke out in June 1950. Immediately after, President Harry Truman sent the 7th fleet to the Taiwan Strait to guard against military confrontation in that region. From then on, Taiwan has depended upon the U.S. military for its protection. Beginning with its signing in 1954, the U.S.-R.O.C. Mutual Defense Treaty guaranteed Taiwan’s security and survival for the next two decades. During the 1970s and 1980s, the U.S. and China tacitly agreed to put aside the Taiwan issue, with the U.S. reversing its formal treaty commitment in order to form a strategic partnership to counter the threat posed by the former Soviet Union.
