Core Public Attitudes toward Defense and Security in Taiwan

The capacity for self-defense and the resolve to fight play crucial roles in Taiwan's national defense. A long-term observation of public opinion regarding national defense issues can help government grasp the pulse of public opinion and inform policy implementation, so that it coordinates more closely with public opinion. Using five surveys conducted between 2021 and 2023 by the Election Study Center of National Chengchi University and commissioned by the Institute for National Defense and Security Research (INDSR), this paper investigates the trends in Taiwanese public attitude towards important defense and security issues. Results from longitudinal study reveal the following: first, more than half of the respondents were confident in Taiwan's military to defend the country, but that percentage decreased after the occurrence of major incidents; second, respondents' expectation of U.S. troop deployment if China were to invade hovered around fifty percent, and was contingent upon international events and visits by high-ranking foreign officials to Taiwan. While Taiwanese will to fight was affected by Chinese military drills and cognitive warfare by China, the level of resolve remained fairly consistent. This paper also unveils a complex interconnection influencing Taiwanese resolve for self-defense, whereby respondents' partisanship, perceptions of U.S. commitment to Taiwan, confidence in Taiwan's national military, and willingness to fight are intertwined. Future research can build upon these results to explore changes and continuity in Taiwanese views on defense and security.