Abstract
The purpose of this paper is to identify the most important security and military issues that have surrounded the implementation of the Taiwan Relations Act (TRA).1 Since 1979, many former American officials have testified to the Congress or written papers for various think tanks about these controversial security issues. It may be many years before the internal records of the U.S. government are declassified for historians to study these controversies inside the U.S. government. However, in the meantime, by examining the debates among former officials, at least some indirect knowledge of the range of policy options can be glimpsed. To my knowledge, these debates have not been drawn together in one place to provide a guide to security issues and controversies that have surrounded the TRA. This paper does not attempt to explain the origins of these issues or why former officials differ in their views. Retired Admiral Eric McVadon, former defense attaché in Beijing, has testified that how one characterizes China’s military and security influence is often a function of whether one leans toward “China bashing” or “Panda hugging.”2
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Notes
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© 2011 Cheng-yi Lin and Denny Roy
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Pillsbury, M. (2011). U.S. Debates About Taiwan’s Security, 1979–2009. In: Lin, Cy., Roy, D. (eds) The Future of United States, China, and Taiwan Relations. Palgrave Macmillan, New York. https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230118966_11
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230118966_11
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