Arms Twisting: U .S.-Taiwan Arms Transfers in the First Decade of the Twenty-first Century

Abstract

Arms transfers between the United States and Taiwan are a Key pillar of the 1979 Taiwan Relations Act. This study analyzes and evaluates the impact of changes in national and international circumstances that have affected the bilateral negotiation of arms transfers in the first decade of the twenty-first century in order to highlight the political complexity of U.S.-Taiwan relations. The paper will draw some conclusions that will help us to understand how U.S.-Taiwan relations based on the TRA will develop in the near future.