Page 545 - Le Operazioni Interforze e Multinazionali nella Storia Militare - ACTA Tomo I

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ActA
Formosa MAAG (Military Assistance Advisory Group):
Army Building in a Cold War Hotspot

Eric SETZEKORn

hroughout the Cold War period, a key node of the U.S. presence in East Asia was
T the sustained military partnership with the Republic of China (ROC) on Taiwan.
During the early Cold War period, Taiwan offered a variety of military opportunities,
in terms of foreign military cooperation and strategic basing options, to aid U.S. glob-
al strategies but utilizing these possibilities required an organizational mechanism to
develop ROC military capabilities. From 1950-1955, the Formosa-Military Assistance
Advisory Group (MAAG) was critical in the transformation of the ROC military on
Taiwan from a group of demoralized refugees into a professional military force, and
helped establish a pattern of American MAAG programs throughout Asia. The historical
study of Formosa MAAG highlights two key issues during the Cold War era: develop-
ing military capability in allied nations and the limited ability to change the political
behavior of foreign partners. After the collapse of the ROC military during 1948 and
1949 and its retreat to Taiwan, the United States was faced with the unenviable choice of
supporting a government that appeared to have little political competence or acquiesc-
ing to a Communist dominated China. Elements of the American military, particularly
the Joint Chief of Staff (JCS), sought to aid ROC forces on Taiwan through large-scale
transfers of equipment, training and logistical support. The Truman administration and
the State Department strongly opposed continued support for the ROC and in January
1950, President Truman suspended military aid to the ROC which had been allocated
under the China Aid Act of 1948. 1
Only after the North Korean invasion of South Korea on 24 June 1950 did American
policy shift to support for the ROC government on Taiwan. On 27 June 1950, Truman
th
ordered the U.S. 7 Fleet to prevent any attack on Taiwan and also prevent ROC attacks
on China. To develop ROC military capabilities, Formosa MAAG was established under
the command of Major General William Chase. Initial strength for the group was set
at 116 officers and men, but with the expectation that future expansion would bring
2
the final strength up to 400-500 advisors. Formosa MAAG operated under a set of
assumptions that the objective of the MAAG was not to create a ROC military capable of
offensive action and that American support would focus on areas of funding, equipment

1 Joseph Ballantine, Formosa: A Problem of United States Foreign Policy. (Washington D.C.: The Brookings
Institution, 1952), p. 139.; New York Times. Truman Bars Military Help for Defense of Formosa; British End
Nationalist Tie. Jan 6, 1950, p. 1.
2 Joseph Ballantine, Formosa: A Problem of United States Foreign Policy, (Washington D.C.: The Brookings
Institution, 1952), p. 142.