Narratives of Taiwan’s Military Development

This thesis investigates the development of Taiwan’s armed forces by contextualizing their evolution within a broader framework of regional geostrategy, political history, and public sentiment. At the heart of this inquiry is a critical puzzle: why does Taiwan’s military appear underdeveloped relative to its geopolitical exposure, even as experts warn of a rising threat from China? While global discourse has increasingly focused on the so-called "Taiwan question"—especially amid deteriorating U.S.-China relations and dramatic flashpoints—domestic sentiment within Taiwan has often been more muted. This tension between external urgency and internal ambivalence raises important questions about how history, national identity, and international alliances shape defense postures. The paper traces Taiwan’s development across several domains. First, it provides two intertwined narratives: one framing Taiwan’s centuries-long role as a site of geostrategic interest, the other tracing its military history from Whampoa Military Academy to the Republic of China Armed Forces. It then uses a series of baseline characteristics of Taiwan’s physical positioning and sociopolitical history to suggest resulting factors contributing to Taiwan’s military status. Finally, drawing from a comparative analysis with South Korea, it explores why Taiwan’s conscription policies, defense spending, and force readiness have diverged so significantly. By anchoring these observations in a longitudinal framework of U.S. influence, Chinese antagonism, and domestic political change, the thesis highlights several explanatory factors for Taiwan’s military status.