Lai Visits Kinmen
The 8th President of Taiwan, Lai “William” Ching-te, made an official visit to the island of Kinmen last week. He sent an important message to Beijing while memorializing the history of the island group.
What is Kinmen?
Kinmen is pronounced Jinmen (in Taiwanese use of the Wade-Giles romanization of Chinese characters, a K is usually a short J sound), and it means Golden Gate. This series of islands acts as the gate to the PRC port of Xiamen, 17th largest port in the world, and the 8th largest in mainland PRC.
The main island of Kinmen, Kinmen County, Republic of China (Taiwan), is less than 10 kilometers from mainland PRC. While this makes the county difficult to defend, Taiwan forces have done so thrice: in 1949, 1955, and 1958. Here is the link to Vermilion’s explainer on the 1949 invasion of Kinmen.
President Lai’s visit last week is an important reminder to the world of the blood Taiwan military have shed in defense of their outlying islands. Not to be forgotten are the Americans that were also killed on Kinmen long ago. On 23 August, the 66th anniversary of the 1958 Second Taiwan Strait Crisis, Lai visited a memorial park on Kinmen to commemorate the defense of the island.
What was the 1958 Second Taiwan Strait Crisis?
The Second Taiwan Strait Crisis of 1958 began on 23 August when PRC forces opened an artillery barrage of 40,000 rounds against the Kinmen County island complex. Red air also sank a nationalist Landing Ship, Tank (LST) employed to move ground combat power around the strait region.
The next day, PRC forces attempted a seizure of one of the Kinmen County Islands (Tung-Ting or DongDing Island, see above). Taiwan soldiers and sailors fought off multiple PRC landing attempts.
This led to an escalating crisis and changes to US military posture. President Eisenhower surged the 7th Fleet (reinforced by a still in-transit Essex and Midway) to the Taiwan region, based an Army Nike battalion (air defense) on the Taiwan main island, and rapidly rebased about ten USAF squadrons into the first island chain (Taiwan, Philippines, and Japan). This composite task organized wing was christened the Composite Air Strike Force (CASF, including F-86, F-100, F-101, RF-101, C-130, B-57, and other types).
These preparations were consistent with the now defunct Sino-American Mutual Defense Treaty of 1955-1980, with the pertinent article of the treaty outlined below:
“ARTICLE V: Each Party recognizes that an armed attack in the West Pacific Area directed against the territories of either of the Parties would be dangerous to its own peace and safety and declares that it would act to meet the common danger in accordance with its constitutional processes[...]”
While the treaty’s article V collective defense duties were in full effect in 1955, the territory of the Republic of China was only defined in the treaty as the main island of Taiwan and the Penghu Islands. The PRC knew that Kinmen (and Matsu, Wuqiu, etc) were therefore in a gray area.
In response to the PRC’s continued air and sea attacks, the Joint Chiefs of staff and Secretary of State Dulles suggested President Eisenhower employ nuclear weapons as the ultimate backstop for the defense of Kinmen County. Initially, the US would employ limited conventional forces to resupply Taiwan military units throughout the region, including on outlying islands.
After an extended standoff between Russia/China and the US/Taiwan, red forces backed down. The PRC and Taiwan would continue to shell each other in the Kinmen area for years.
Lai’s Legacy
President Lai’s uncle fought in the 1958 Second Taiwan Strait Crisis. Lai also emphasized modern Taiwan’s informal renunciation of claims to mainland China:
Lai’s visit should also be taken in the context of the previous 65th anniversary of the Second Taiwan Strait Crisis, which President Tsai also commemorated on Kinmen.
In 2023, August 23 fell on a Wednesday. The previous Monday, 21 August 2023, Taiwan announced a 3.5% increase to the Taiwan defense budget, leading to a then modern record of $606.8 billion New Taiwan Dollars ($19 billion).
From the NBC News article describing the 2024 Lai visit:
“Lai, speaking to the veterans and their families, said the Taiwanese government continues to strengthen and spend more on the military and will defend Taiwan’s sovereignty.
Taiwan’s defense spending will rise 7.7% next year, outpacing expected economic growth, as the island adds fighter jets and missiles to strengthen its deterrence against a rising threat from Beijing.”
The message to Beijing is clear. Taiwan has stopped the PRC before on Kinmen, multiple times. The US directly or indirectly supported Taiwan all three times. Taipei seeks no war, but is ready to defeat Beijing should it choose aggression.
Beijing also didn’t miss that Nikki Haley visited Taiwan on 24 August, the day in 1958 that the Eisenhower administration ordered US military forces to surge towards Taiwan. Haley met with Lai and called for Taiwan to become a full member of the UN.
This is an exceptional statement, but is also tempered by the fact that Haley is not a current sitting elected or government official.
American Perspective on Kinmen
While Kinmen is a frontline bulwark for the people of Taiwan, Americans have long debated the utility of defending Taiwan’s outlying islands. During the US presidential debates in 1960, Nixon and Kennedy disagreed on whether or not the US should defend Kinmen and Matsu.
“In the event that such an attack [on Kinmen and Matsu] occurred and in the event the attack was a prelude to an attack on [Taiwan] - which would be the indication today because the Chinese Communists say over and over again that their objective is not the offshore islands, that they consider them only steppingstones to taking [Taiwan] - in the event that their attack then were a prelude to an attack on [Taiwan], there isn't any question but that the United States would then again, as in the case of Berlin, honor our treaty obligations and stand by our ally of [Taiwan].” - Nixon
“[Nixon] wants us to be committed to the defense of these islands merely as the defense of these islands as free territory, not as part of the defense of [Taiwan]. Admiral Yarnell, the commander of the Asiatic fleet, has said that these islands are not worth the bones of a single American.” - Kennedy
Generations later, the debate rages on.