ABSTRACT
The world market for weapons and related technologies expanded spectacularly in the 1980s for several interrelated reasons. In the summer and fall of 1989, the arms market crisis deepened when the Warsaw Pact disintegrated, and many of the newly independent East European countries undertook precipitous disarmament. The early 1990s are witnessing the most spectacular buyer s market in arms since 1945. There is a global glut of state-of-the-art weapons. Taiwan's activities in the international arms market have begun to appear in the popular press. The People's Republic of China recognizes that the United States has a special relationship with Taiwan "left over from history," and therefore has been somewhat less outraged at American military technology transfers to Taiwan than at anyone else's. Reflecting the increasing importance of Taiwan's "situational deterrent," the emphasis of Taipei's activities in the international arms market has shifted from military readiness to political-strategic deterrence and to the broader goals of diplomatic legitimacy.
