Taiwan and the Revolution in Military Affairs

Not all Revolutions in Military Affairs (RMA) are created equal. One interesting dimension is the depth of information technology (IT) penetration in a given country. For countries with high levels of IT and a well-educated, information-savvy population, RMAs have the potential to be “deep,” forming layers of links with the private sector and feeding off the technological dynamism of industry. For developing countries, however, RMAs can be imported at high cost, but the potential impact is likely to be more “shallow.” Using this distinction, the Gulf War might therefore be seen as a conflict between a deep RMA (United States) and a shallow RMA (Iraq). At first glance, the emerging conflict between China and Taiwan appears to also follow this pattern, with Taiwan enjoying a potentially deep RMA and China importing the more shallow variety. While an enormous amount of research has been conducted on the Chinese side of the equation, little if any attention has been given to RMA trends in Taiwan. This chapter seeks to fill this gap, examining both the technological base and military policies of Taiwan to forge an assessment of its military modernization. The principal finding is that Taiwan is blessed with many technological and economic precursors to a deep RMA, but that largely political and bureaucratic constraints have thus far impeded a full exploitation of this potential capability.