U.S. Abstracts:

Missile Deployments, Missile Defenses and Regional Stability

Randall Schriver

This paper examines how the increase in Chinese missiles and the lack of transparency on the part of the Chinese military contribute to instability in the East Asian region.  Because of this instability, the author proposes that missile defenses should be given to Taiwan.  The paper concludes that China has framed the debate over missile defense by labeling it as destabilizing to the region.  However, missile defenses for Taiwan are not inherently destabilizing.  The writer argues that if China were to reduce the number of missiles targeted at Taiwan, increase military transparency and renounce the use of force against Taiwan, it would decrease the need for missile defenses for Taiwan.

Randall Schriver is a research assistant at the Asia/Pacific Research Center, Stanford University.

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