Revisiting Taiwan's Defense Strategy

Citation: William S. Murray (2008) Revisiting Taiwan's Defense Strategy.
Internet Archive Scholar (search for fulltext): Revisiting Taiwan's Defense Strategy
Wikidata (metadata): Q66364287
Download: https://digital-commons.usnwc.edu/nwc-review/vol61/iss3/3/
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Summary

Argues Chinese military modernization means China could with missiles and other attacks destroy or deny use of Taiwan's symmetric (e.g., advanced planes and naval craft) and fixed assets, as well as blockade the island after an initial surprise attack. Taiwan should stop buying such weapons (which are also very expensive and destabilizing, as some are more effective for offensive use or uses could be misattributed to the US) and instead adopt a "porcupine" strategy, focused on asymmetric, cheap, defense-only weapons, as well as hardening of key assets, and civil resilience. Such a strategy would increase deterrence and increase stability, including via the US, eg buying time for a US response in the event of an invasion, and avoiding provocative purchases of advanced offensive capabilities.