Taiwan
semi-presidential republic
Taiwan as the 2022 edition of the CIA World Factbook published it: 141 fields, one of 36 editions from 1990 to 2025.
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Introduction
1 fieldBackground
First inhabited by Austronesian people, Taiwan became home to Han immigrants beginning in the late Ming Dynasty (17th century). In 1895, military defeat forced China's Qing Dynasty to cede Taiwan to Japan, which then governed Taiwan for 50 years. Taiwan came under Chinese Nationalist (Kuomintang, KMT) control after World War II. With the communist victory in the Chinese civil war in 1949, the Nationalist-controlled Republic of China government and 2 million Nationalists fled to Taiwan and continued to claim to be the legitimate government for mainland China and Taiwan based on a 1947 constitution drawn up for all of China.
Until 1987, however, the Nationalist Government ruled Taiwan under a civil war martial law declaration dating to 1948. Beginning in the 1970s, Nationalist authorities gradually began to incorporate the native population into the governing structure beyond the local level. The democratization process expanded rapidly in the 1980s, leading to the then illegal founding of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), Taiwan’s first opposition party, in 1986 and the lifting of martial law the following year.
Taiwan held legislative elections in 1992, the first in over forty years, and its first direct presidential election in 1996. In the 2000 presidential elections, Taiwan underwent its first peaceful transfer of power with the KMT loss to the DPP and afterwards experienced two additional democratic transfers of power in 2008 and 2016. Throughout this period, the island prospered, became one of East Asia's economic "Tigers," and after 2000 became a major investor in mainland China as cross-Strait ties matured. The dominant political issues continue to be economic reform and growth as well as management of sensitive relations between Taiwan and China.
Geography
Eastern Asia, islands bordering the East China Sea, Philippine Sea, South China Sea, and Taiwan Strait, north of the Philippines, off the southeastern coast of China
17 fieldsLand useshare of 35,980 sq km
Location
Eastern Asia, islands bordering the East China Sea, Philippine Sea, South China Sea, and Taiwan Strait, north of the Philippines, off the southeastern coast of China
Climate
- tropical;
- marine;
- rainy season during southwest monsoon (June to August);
- persistent and extensive cloudiness all year
Population distribution
distribution exhibits a peripheral coastal settlement pattern, with the largest populations on the north and west coasts
Natural hazards
earthquakes; typhoons; volcanism: Kueishantao Island (401 m), east of Taiwan, is its only historically active volcano, although it has not erupted in centuries
People and Society
28 fieldsAge structuremale left, female right · (2020 est.)
Per 1,000 population(2022 est.)
Male · female
Religions(2005 est.)
Nationality
- noun:
- Taiwan (singular and plural)
- adjective:
- Taiwan (or Taiwanese)
note: example - he or she is from Taiwan; they are from Taiwan
Ethnic groups
Han Chinese (including Holo, who compose approximately 70% of Taiwan's population, Hakka, and other groups originating in mainland China) more than 95%, indigenous Malayo-Polynesian peoples 2.3%
note 1: there are 16 officially recognized indigenous groups: Amis, Atayal, Bunun, Hla'alua, Kanakaravu, Kavalan, Paiwan, Puyuma, Rukai, Saisiyat, Sakizaya, Seediq, Thao, Truku, Tsou, and Yami;
Amis, Paiwan, and Atayal are the largest and account for roughly 70% of the indigenous population
note 2: although not definitive, the majority of current genetic, archeological, and linguistic data support the theory that Taiwan is the ultimate source for the spread of humans across the Pacific to Polynesia; the expansion (ca. 3000 B.C. to A.D. 1200) took place via the Philippines and eastern Indonesia and reached Fiji and Tonga by about 900 B.C.; from there voyagers spread across the rest of the Pacific islands over the next two millennia
Languages
Mandarin (official), Taiwanese (Min Nan), Hakka dialects, approximately 16 indigenous languages; major-language sample(s): 世界概況 – 不可缺少的基本消息來源 (Mandarin); The World Factbook, the indispensable source for basic information.
Population distribution
distribution exhibits a peripheral coastal settlement pattern, with the largest populations on the north and west coasts
Sex ratio
- at birth:
- 1.06 male(s)/female
- 0-14 years:
- 1.06 male(s)/female
- 15-24 years:
- 1.06 male(s)/female
- 25-54 years:
- 1 male(s)/female
- 55-64 years:
- 0.95 male(s)/female
- 65 years and over:
- 0.73 male(s)/female
- total population:
- 0.97 male(s)/female (2022 est.)
Environment
6 fieldsLand use(2018 est.)
Environment - current issues
- air pollution;
- water pollution from industrial emissions, raw sewage;
- contamination of drinking water supplies;
- trade in endangered species;
- low-level radioactive waste disposal
Climate
- tropical;
- marine;
- rainy season during southwest monsoon (June to August);
- persistent and extensive cloudiness all year
Urbanization
- urban population:
- 80.1% of total population (2023)
- rate of urbanization:
- 0.65% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
Government
Semi-presidential republic; President TSAI Ing-wen (since 20 May 2016); Premier SU Tseng-chang (President of the Executive Yuan) (since 11 January 2019)
20 fieldsPresidential electionpercent of vote
Legislative Yuan, 107 seats, elected 11 January 2020one dot, one seat
Percent of vote
Country name
- conventional long form:
- none
- conventional short form:
- Taiwan
- local long form:
- none
- local short form:
- Taiwan
- former:
- Formosa
- etymology:
- "Tayowan" was the name of the coastal sandbank where the Dutch erected their colonial headquarters on the island in the 17th century;
- the former name "Formosa" means "beautiful" in Portuguese
Capital
- name:
- Taipei
- geographic coordinates:
- 25 02 N, 121 31 E
- time difference:
- UTC+8 (13 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)
- etymology:
- the Chinese meaning is "Northern Taiwan," reflecting the city's position in the far north of the island
Administrative divisions
- includes main island of Taiwan plus smaller islands nearby and off coast of China's Fujian Province;
- Taiwan is divided into 13 counties (xian, singular and plural), 3 cities (shi, singular and plural), and 6 special municipalities directly under the jurisdiction of the Executive Yuan
- counties:
- Changhua, Chiayi, Hsinchu, Hualien, Kinmen, Lienchiang, Miaoli, Nantou, Penghu, Pingtung, Taitung, Yilan, Yunlin
- cities:
- Chiayi, Hsinchu, Keelung
- special municipalities:
- Kaohsiung (city), New Taipei (city), Taichung (city), Tainan (city), Taipei (city), Taoyuan (city)
note: Taiwan uses a variety of romanization systems; while a modified Wade-Giles system still dominates, the city of Taipei has adopted a Pinyin romanization for street and place names within its boundaries; other local authorities use different romanization systems
National holiday
Republic Day (National Day), 10 October (1911); note - celebrates the anniversary of the Chinese Revolution, also known as Double Ten (10-10) Day
Constitution
- history:
- previous 1912, 1931; latest adopted 25 December 1946, promulgated 1 January 1947, effective 25 December 1947
- amendments:
- proposed by at least one fourth of the Legislative Yuan membership;
- passage requires approval by at least three-fourths majority vote of at least three fourths of the Legislative Yuan membership and approval in a referendum by more than half of eligible voters;
- revised several times, last in 2005
International law organization participation
has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; non-party state to the ICCt
Citizenship
- citizenship by birth:
- no
- citizenship by descent only:
- at least one parent must be a citizen of Taiwan
- dual citizenship recognized:
- yes, except that citizens of Taiwan are not recognized as dual citizens of the People's Republic of China
- residency requirement for naturalization:
- 5 years
Suffrage
- 20 years of age;
- universal;
- note - in March 2022, the Legislative Yuan approved lowering the voting age to 18, but the change will require a constitutional amendment that must be submitted to a referendum
Executive branch
- chief of state:
- President TSAI Ing-wen (since 20 May 2016); Vice President LAI Ching-te (since 20 May 2020)
- head of government:
- Premier SU Tseng-chang (President of the Executive Yuan) (since 11 January 2019);
- Vice Premier SHEN Jong-chin (Vice President of the Executive Yuan) (since 19 June 2020)
- cabinet:
- Executive Yuan - ministers appointed by president on recommendation of premier
- elections/appointments:
- president and vice president directly elected on the same ballot by simple majority popular vote for a 4-year term (eligible for a second term);
- election last held on 11 January 2020 (next to be held on 11 January 2024);
- premier appointed by the president;
- vice premiers appointed by the president on the recommendation of the premier
- election results:
- ; 2016 : TSAI Ing-wen elected president; percent of vote - TSAI Ing-wen (DPP) 56.1%, Eric CHU (KMT) 31%, James SOONG (PFP) 12.8%
- 2020 : TSAI Ing-wen elected president;
- percent of vote - TSAI Ing-wen (DPP) 57.1%, HAN Kuo-yu (KMT) 38.6%, James SOONG (PFP) 4.2%;
- note - TSAI is the first woman elected president of Taiwan
Legislative branch
- description:
- unicameral Legislative Yuan (113 seats; 73 members directly elected in single-seat constituencies by simple majority vote, 34 directly elected in a single island-wide constituency by proportional representation vote, and 6 directly elected in multi-seat aboriginal constituencies by proportional representation vote; members serve 4-year terms)
- elections:
- last held on 11 January 2020 (next to be held on 11 January 2024)
- election results:
- percent of vote by party - Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) 34.0%, Kuomintang (KMT) 33.4%, Taiwan People's Party (TPP) 11.2%, New Power Party (NPP) 7.5%;
- seats by party - DPP 61, KMT 38, TPP 5, NPP 3;
- composition as of early 2020 - men 64, women 48, percent of women 42.5%
Judicial branch
- highest court(s):
- Supreme Court (consists of the court president, vice president, and approximately 100 judges organized into 8 civil and 12 criminal divisions, each with a division chief justice and 4 associate justices);
- Constitutional Court (consists of the court president, vice president, and 13 justices)
- judge selection and term of office:
- Supreme Court justices appointed by the president;
- Constitutional Court justices appointed by the president, with approval of the Legislative Yuan;
- Supreme Court justices serve for life;
- Constitutional Court justices appointed for 8-year terms, with half the membership renewed every 4 years
- subordinate courts:
- high courts;
- district courts;
- hierarchy of administrative courts
Political parties and leaders
- Democratic Progressive Party or DPP [CHEN Chi-mai (acting)]
- Kuomintang or KMT (Nationalist Party) [Eric CHU Chi-luan]
- New Power Party or NPP [CHEN Jiau-hua]
- People First Party or PFP [James SOONG]
- Taiwan People's Party or TPP [KO Wen-je]
- Taiwan Statebuilding Party or TSP [CHEN Yi-chi]
note: the DPP and the KMT are the two major political parties; there are hundreds of registered minor parties
International organization participation
ADB (Taipei, China), APEC (Chinese Taipei), BCIE, IOC, ITUC (NGOs), SICA (observer), WTO (Taipei, China);; note - separate customs territory of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen, and Matsu
Diplomatic representation in the US
- chief of mission:
- ; Taipei Economic and Cultural Offices (branch offices): Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Denver (CO), Houston, Honolulu, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, San Francisco, Seattle
- none;
- commercial and cultural relations with its citizens in the US are maintained through an unofficial instrumentality, the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the United States (TECRO), a private nonprofit corporation that performs citizen and consular services similar to those at diplomatic posts, represented by HSIAO Bi-khim (since 20 July 2020);
- office: 4201 Wisconsin Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20016;
- telephone: [1] (202) 895-1800
Diplomatic representation from the US
- chief of mission:
- the US does not have an embassy in Taiwan;
- commercial and cultural relations with the people of Taiwan are maintained through an unofficial instrumentality, the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT), a private nonprofit corporation that performs citizen and consular services similar to those at diplomatic posts;
- it is managed by Director Sandra OUDKIRK (since July 2021)
- mailing address:
- 4170 AIT Taipei Place, Washington DC 20521-4170
- telephone:
- [886] 2-2162-2000
- FAX:
- [886] 2-2162-2251
- email address and website:
- [email protected]; https://www.ait.org.tw/
- branch office(s):
- American Institute in Taiwan; No. 100, Jinhu Road,; Neihu District 11461, Taipei City
- other offices:
- Kaohsiung (Branch Office)
Flag description
- red field with a dark blue rectangle in the upper hoist-side corner bearing a white sun with 12 triangular rays;
- the blue and white design of the canton (symbolizing the sun of progress) dates to 1895;
- it was later adopted as the flag of the Kuomintang Party;
- blue signifies liberty, justice, and democracy, red stands for fraternity, sacrifice, and nationalism, and white represents equality, frankness, and the people's livelihood;
- the 12 rays of the sun are those of the months and the twelve traditional Chinese hours (each ray equals two hours)
note: similar to the flag of Samoa
National anthem
- name:
- "Zhonghua Minguo guoge" (National Anthem of the Republic of China)
- lyrics/music:
- HU Han-min, TAI Chi-t'ao, and LIAO Chung-k'ai/CHENG Mao-yun
note: adopted 1930; also the song of the Kuomintang Party; it is informally known as "San Min Chu I" or "San Min Zhu Yi" (Three Principles of the People);
because of political pressure from China, "Guo Qi Ge" (National Banner Song) is used at international events rather than the official anthem of Taiwan; the "National Banner Song" has gained popularity in Taiwan and is commonly used during flag raisings
Economy
Taiwan has a dynamic capitalist economy that is driven largely by industrial manufacturing, and especially exports of electronics, machinery, and petrochemicals.
33 fieldsGDP - composition, by sector of origin(2017 est.)
Trading partnersexports left, imports right
By end use% of GDP · (2017 est.)
Budget(2017 est.)
Economic overview
Taiwan has a dynamic capitalist economy that is driven largely by industrial manufacturing, and especially exports of electronics, machinery, and petrochemicals. This heavy dependence on exports exposes the economy to fluctuations in global demand. Taiwan's diplomatic isolation, low birth rate, rapidly aging population, and increasing competition from China and other Asia Pacific markets are other major long-term challenges.
Following the landmark Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA) signed with China in June 2010, Taiwan in July 2013 signed a free trade deal with New Zealand - Taipei’s first-ever with a country with which it does not maintain diplomatic relations - and, in November of that year, inked a trade pact with Singapore.
However, follow-on components of the ECFA, including a signed agreement on trade in services and negotiations on trade in goods and dispute resolution, have stalled. In early 2014, the government bowed to public demand and proposed a new law governing the oversight of cross-Strait agreements, before any additional deals with China are implemented;
the legislature has yet to vote on such legislation, leaving the future of ECFA uncertain. President TSAI since taking office in May 2016 has promoted greater economic integration with South and Southeast Asia through the New Southbound Policy initiative and has also expressed interest in Taiwan joining the Trans-Pacific Partnership as well as bilateral trade deals with partners such as the US. These overtures have likely played a role in increasing Taiwan’s total exports, which rose 11% during the first half of 2017, buoyed by strong demand for semiconductors.
Taiwan's total fertility rate of just over one child per woman is among the lowest in the world, raising the prospect of future labor shortages, falling domestic demand, and declining tax revenues. Taiwan's population is aging quickly, with the number of people over 65 expected to account for nearly 20% of the island's total population by 2025.
The island runs a trade surplus with many economies, including China and the US, and its foreign reserves are the world's fifth largest, behind those of China, Japan, Saudi Arabia, and Switzerland. In 2006, China overtook the US to become Taiwan's second-largest source of imports after Japan.
China is also the island's number one destination for foreign direct investment. Taiwan since 2009 has gradually loosened rules governing Chinese investment and has also secured greater market access for its investors on the mainland. In August 2012, the Taiwan Central Bank signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on cross-Strait currency settlement with its Chinese counterpart.
The MOU allows for the direct settlement of Chinese renminbi (RMB) and the New Taiwan dollar across the Strait, which has helped Taiwan develop into a local RMB hub.
Closer economic links with the mainland bring opportunities for Taiwan’s economy but also pose challenges as political differences remain unresolved and China’s economic growth is slowing. President TSAI’s administration has made little progress on the domestic economic issues that loomed large when she was elected, including concerns about stagnant wages, high housing prices, youth unemployment, job security, and financial security in retirement.
TSAI has made more progress on boosting trade with South and Southeast Asia, which may help insulate Taiwan’s economy from a fall in mainland demand should China’s growth slow in 2018.
Credit ratings
- Fitch rating:
- AA- (2016)
- Moody's rating:
- Aa3 (1994)
Standard & Poors rating: AA- (2002)
note: The year refers to the year in which the current credit rating was first obtained.
Agricultural products
rice, vegetables, pork, cabbages, poultry, sugar cane, milk, eggs, pineapples, tropical fruit
Industries
electronics, communications and information technology products, petroleum refining, chemicals, textiles, iron and steel, machinery, cement, food processing, vehicles, consumer products, pharmaceuticals
Exports - commodities
integrated circuits, office machinery/parts, computers, refined petroleum, liquid crystal displays (2019)
Imports - commodities
integrated circuits, crude petroleum, photography equipment, natural gas, refined petroleum (2019)
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold
$456.7 billion (31 December 2017 est.) · $439 billion (31 December 2016 est.)
Exchange rates
New Taiwan dollars (TWD) per US dollar - 28.211 (2020 est.) · 30.472 (2019 est.) · 30.8395 (2018 est.) · 31.911 (2014 est.) · 30.363 (2013 est.)
Energy
10 fieldsInstalled generating capacity, 57.738 million kW(2020 est.)
Coal
- production:
- 5.955 million metric tons (2020 est.)
- consumption:
- 67.985 million metric tons (2020 est.)
- exports:
- 118,000 metric tons (2020 est.)
- imports:
- 63.523 million metric tons (2020 est.)
- proven reserves:
- 1 million metric tons (2019 est.)
Petroleum
- total petroleum production:
- 800 bbl/day (2021 est.)
- refined petroleum consumption:
- 998,100 bbl/day (2019 est.)
- crude oil and lease condensate exports:
- 0 bbl/day (2018 est.)
- crude oil and lease condensate imports:
- 886,200 bbl/day (2018 est.)
- crude oil estimated reserves:
- 2.4 million barrels (2021 est.)
Natural gas
- production:
- 150.589 million cubic meters (2019 est.)
- consumption:
- 22,002,493,000 cubic meters (2019 est.)
- exports:
- 0 cubic meters (2021 est.)
- imports:
- 22,172,507,000 cubic meters (2019 est.)
- proven reserves:
- 6.23 billion cubic meters (2021 est.)
Carbon dioxide emissions
279.206 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.)
- from coal and metallurgical coke:
- 141.445 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.)
- from petroleum and other liquids:
- 92.207 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.)
- from consumed natural gas:
- 45.554 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.)
Communications
7 fieldsPer 100 inhabitants(2019 est.)
Telecommunication systems
- general assessment:
- Taiwan has a highly developed telecoms sector in both the fixed-line and mobile segments;
- in part this is due to the country’s early moves to liberalize the market, allowing vigorous competition to flourish;
- the government has also made concerted efforts to take advantage of Taiwan’s strengths in the development of high-tech, export-oriented industries to encourage and enable the rapid adoption of advanced telecom platforms, while simultaneously leveraging the same telecoms infrastructure to push even further ahead with the country's industrial development plans;
- Taiwan has one of the highest teledensities in the region;
- while fixed-line subscriber numbers are trending downwards, the rate of decline has been slowed by the major fixed-line provider investing strongly in building out a widespread fiber network to allow customers to maintain a terrestrial voice connection as part of a fixed broadband package;
- fiber is the dominant platform in Taiwan’s fixed broadband market;
- cable services have retained an unusually strong following thanks to the success of cable providers in delivering competitive cable TV and telephony services as a way to get around Chunghwa Telecom’s control of the last mile for its copper and fiber networks;
- Taiwan also has high penetration rates in its mobile and mobile broadband segments, growth in both markets is almost at a standstill because the country reached 100% penetration very early on – way back when GSM was first introduced, in mobile’s case;
- the MNOs moved quickly to roll out 4G and 5G networks and services in rapid succession, but subscriber numbers (and market share) has barely changed;
- the improved quality and performance available with the new platforms will drive increased usage and ARPU;
- fierce competition following the launch of 4G saw the opposite happen, with price wars causing telco revenues to fall instead;
- it is possible that the same problem can be avoided with 5G allowing Taiwan to reach the target of 50% of subscribers on 5G by mid-2023 (2022)
- domestic:
- fixed-line over 53 per 100 and mobile-cellular roughly 123 per 100 (2020)
- international:
- country code - 886;
- landing points for the EAC-C2C, APCN-2, FASTER, SJC2, TSE-1, TPE, APG, SeaMeWe-3, FLAG North Asia Loop/REACH North Asia Loop, HKA, NCP, and PLCN submarine fiber cables provide links throughout Asia, Australia, the Middle East, Europe, Africa and the US;
- satellite earth stations - 2 (2019)
note: the COVID-19 pandemic continues to have a significant impact on production and supply chains globally; since 2020, some aspects of the telecom sector have experienced a downturn, particularly in mobile device production; progress toward 5G implementation has resumed, as well as upgrades to infrastructure;
consumer spending on telecom services has increased due to the surge in demand for capacity and bandwidth; the crucial nature of telecom services as a tool for work and school from home is still evident, and the spike in this area has seen growth opportunities for development of new tools and increased services
Broadcast media
- 5 nationwide television networks operating roughly 22 TV stations;
- more than 300 satellite TV channels are available;
- about 60% of households utilize multi-channel cable TV;
- 99.9% of households subscribe to digital cable TV;
- national and regional radio networks with about 171 radio stations (2019)
Transportation
11 fieldsAirports by runway lengthpaved left, unpaved right
Networkskm
National air transport system
number of registered air carriers: 7 (2020); inventory of registered aircraft operated by air carriers: 216
Railways
- total:
- 1,613.1 km (2018)
- standard gauge:
- 345 km (2018) 1.435-m gauge (345 km electrified)
- narrow gauge:
- 1,118.1 km (2018) 1.067-m gauge (793.9 km electrified); 150 0.762-m gauge note: the 0.762-gauge track belongs to three entities: the Forestry Bureau, Taiwan Cement, and TaiPower
Roadways
- total:
- 43,206 km (2017)
- paved:
- 42,793 km (2017) (includes 1,348 km of highways and 737 km of expressways)
- unpaved:
- 413 km (2017)
Merchant marine
- total:
- 429
- by type:
- bulk carrier 37, container ship 49, general cargo 57, oil tanker 33, other 253 (2021)
Ports and terminals
- major seaport(s):
- Keelung (Chi-lung), Kaohsiung, Hualian, Taichung
- container port(s) (TEUs):
- Kaohsiung (10,428,634), Taichung (1,793,966), Taipei (1,620,392) (2019)
- LNG terminal(s) (import):
- Yung An (Kaohsiung), Taichung
Military and Security
6 fieldsPersonnel strengthsone square, 1,000 people · (2022)
Military and security forces
- Taiwan Armed Forces:
- Army, Navy (includes Marine Corps), Air Force;
- Taiwan Coast Guard Administration (a law enforcement organization with homeland security functions during peacetime and national defense missions during wartime);
- Ministry of Interior: National Police (2022)
Military equipment inventories and acquisitions
- the Taiwan military is armed mostly with second-hand weapons and equipment provided by the US;
- since 2010, the US has continued to be the largest provider of arms;
- Taiwan also has a domestic defense industry capable of building and upgrading a range of weapons systems, including surface ships and submarines (2022)
Military service age and obligation
- starting with those born in 1994, men 18-36 years of age may volunteer or must complete 4 months of compulsory military service;
- civil service can be substituted for military service in some cases;
- men born before December 1993 are required to complete compulsory service for 12 months (military or civil);
- men are subject to training recalls up to four times for periods not to exceed 20 days for 8 years after discharge;
- women may enlist but are restricted to noncombat roles in most cases;
- as part of its transition to an all-volunteer military, the last cohort of 12-month military conscripts completed their service obligations in December 2018 (2022)
note 1: compulsory service is 5 weeks of basic training followed by 11 weeks of specialized training with field units; in 2022, the Taiwan announced that compulsory service would be extended from 4 to 12 months beginning in January 2024
note 2: as of 2021, women made up about 15% of the active-duty military
Military - note
the US Taiwan Relations Act of April 1979 states that the US shall provide Taiwan with arms of a defensive character and shall maintain the capacity of the US to resist any resort to force or other forms of coercion that would jeopardize the security, or social or economic system, of the people of Taiwan (2022)
Transnational Issues
2 fieldsDisputes - international
- Taiwan-Brunei-China-Malaysia-Philippines-Vietnam :
- involved in complex dispute over the Spratly Islands in the South China Sea that are thought to have large oil and natural gas reserves, as well as being located amidst prime fishing grounds and busy commercial shipping traffic;
- the Spratly Islands also are in a strategic position for establishing a military presence to monitor activity in the South China Sea;
- the 2002 "Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea" has eased tensions but falls short of a legally binding "code of conduct" desired by several of the disputants
- Taiwan-China-Philippines :
- border dispute over the Scarborough Reef in the South China Sea;
- Scarborough Reef, like the Spratly Islands, is strategically located and is surrounded by abundant fishing grounds;
- it may also be ripe for oil and natural gas exploration
- Taiwan-China-Vietnam :
- the Paracel Islands are occupied by China but claimed by Taiwan and Vietnam
- Taiwan-Japan-China :
- in 2003, China and Taiwan became more vocal in rejecting both Japan's claims to the uninhabited islands of the Senkaku-shoto (Diaoyu Tai) and Japan's unilaterally declared exclusive economic zone in the East China Sea where all parties engage in hydrocarbon prospecting;
- Senkaku-shoto is situated near key shipping lanes, rich fishing grounds, and possibly significant oil and natural gas reserves
Cite this entry
Central Intelligence Agency. “Taiwan.” The World Factbook 2022. Archived by The Factbook, thefactbook.org/taiwan/2022.