China’s Greatest Nightmare: Taiwan Armed with Nuclear Weapons

Taiwan’s nuclear program goes back to 1964, when the People’s
Republic of China tested its first nuclear device. The test was not
exactly a surprise to outside observers, but it was still Taiwan’s
nightmare come true. Chinese and Taiwanese air and naval forces
occasionally skirmished, and it threatened to turn into all-out war.
Suddenly Taipei was confronted with the possibility that such a war
could turn nuclear. Even just one nuclear device detonated on an island
the size of Maryland would have devastating consequences for the
civilian population.

From Taiwan’s perspective, a nuclear arsenal would be the ultimate
guarantor of national sovereignty. Even if the United States split with
the country, as it eventually did, Taiwanese nukes would keep the
Chinese People’s Liberation Army at bay, a deterrent not only against
Chinese nuclear power, but against conventional forces as well. In
hindsight, this would have had a good chance of success, as North
Korea’s own procurement of nuclear weapons has made the United States
and South Korea reluctant to retaliate over the country’s various
military provocations.