Alliance and Arms Transfer : US Arms Transfer to Taiwan

This paper aims to examine US arms transfer policy toward Taiwan in the 2000s. The paper begins with a theoretical analysis of fears of entrapment and abandonment in an asymmetrical alliance between the US and Taiwan. It then elaborates the policy intent and stipulations of the Taiwan Relations Act of 1979 for the execution of US arms transfer policy to Taiwan. The third section will assess the impact of national and international circumstantial changes that affect the bilateral negotiation of arms transfer. In the end, the paper will draw some conclusions for our understanding of US-Taiwan relations in the near future