A Question of Balance
Political Context and Military Aspects of the China-Taiwan Dispute
Download
Download eBook for Free
Full Document
(Includes all revisions)
| Format | File Size | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| PDF file | 2 MB | Use Adobe Acrobat Reader version 10 or higher for the best experience. |
Summary Only
| Format | File Size | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| PDF file | 0.5 MB | Use Adobe Acrobat Reader version 10 or higher for the best experience. |
Errata
| Format | File Size | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| PDF file | 0.5 MB | Use Adobe Acrobat Reader version 10 or higher for the best experience. |
Purchase
Purchase Print Copy
| Format | List Price | Price | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Add to Cart | Paperback184 pages | $30.00 | $24.00 20% Web Discount |
The relationship between China and Taiwan is more stable in 2009 than it has been in years, but China has nonetheless not renounced its “right” to use force to forestall Taiwan's “independence”. At the same time, the cross-strait military balance is shifting in ways that are problematic for Taiwan's defense: The growing size and quality of China's missile arsenal, along with other advances in Chinese military capabilities, call into question the United States' and Taiwan's ability to defend the island against a large-scale Chinese attack. In this volume, the authors employ a mix of theater-level combat modeling, simpler mathematical models, historical analysis, interviews with experts, and qualitative judgment to evaluate both the China-Taiwan political dynamic and the cross-strait military balance. Shlapak et al. conclude with a discussion of how Taiwan might be successfully defended against a Chinese invasion attempt.
Table of Contents
Chapter One
Introduction
Chapter Two
Changing Cross-Strait Political Dynamics
Chapter Three
Missiles over the Strait: China's Short-Range Ballistic Missile Force
Chapter Four
Assessing the Air War
Chapter Five
The Ultimate Roll of the Dice: A Chinese Invasion of Taiwan
Chapter Six
Implications, Conclusions, and Considerations
Appendix
Missile Attacks on Economic Targets on Taiwan
Research conducted by
The research described in this report was sponsored by the Smith Richardson Foundation and was conducted under the auspices of the International Security and Defense Policy Center within the RAND National Security Research Division (NSRD).
This report is part of the RAND Corporation Monograph series. RAND monographs present major research findings that address the challenges facing the public and private sectors. All RAND monographs undergo rigorous peer review to ensure high standards for research quality and objectivity.
This document and trademark(s) contained herein are protected by law. This representation of RAND intellectual property is provided for noncommercial use only. Unauthorized posting of this publication online is prohibited; linking directly to this product page is encouraged. Permission is required from RAND to reproduce, or reuse in another form, any of its research documents for commercial purposes. For information on reprint and reuse permissions, please visit www.rand.org/pubs/permissions.
The RAND Corporation is a nonprofit institution that helps improve policy and decisionmaking through research and analysis. RAND's publications do not necessarily reflect the opinions of its research clients and sponsors.