Taiwan's Security and Air Power

Recent concern about mainland China's intentions towards Taiwan, and more general concern about the risk of instability in the region, has led to growing interest in Taiwan's military strategy. This book brings together a range of experts from the West and from Taiwan itself who examine the key issues connected with Taiwan's air power, which is a key aspect of the China-Taiwan military balance. During the 1990s, Taiwan invested considerable resources in thoroughly re-equipping its air force with modern air defence and strike aircraft equipped with modern missiles, thereby denying China command of the air in any conflict in the short- to medium-term. In the longer-term, air power will remain a crucial influence on the overall balance, as China's efforts to upgrade its own air force's capabilities begin to undermine Taiwan's current advantages.

Martin Edmonds is Professorial Fellow and Director of the Centre for Defense and International Security Studies at Lancaster University. He is also founding Editor-in-Chief of the international journal Defense and Security Analysis and co-Director of the Lancaster and York Universities Defense Research InstituteMichael M. Tsai is currently the Depute Taipei Representative in Washington DC with specific responsibility for Taiwan's relations with the US Department of Defense and the US Armed Forces. A member of the DPP, he served as a Legislator in the Legislative Yuan, when he also served as adviser to the Organizational Planning Committee of the Ministry of National Defense. He is the publisher of Taiwan Defense Affairs and founder of the Institute for Taiwan Defense and Strategic Studies.