Treaty Obligations and Impact
This treaty consists of ten main articles. The content of the treaty includes the provision that if one country came under attack, the other would aid and provide military support.
In the context of Cold War and the confrontation between capitalism and communism worldwide, this treaty secured the Republic of China from invasion by the People's Republic of China in the aftermath of the Chinese Civil War on mainland China, from 1949 until its termination.
This treaty was limited in application to the defense of Taiwan and the Pescadores only. Kinmen and Matsu were not protected by this treaty. Therefore, the US stood aside during the Second Taiwan Strait Crisis.
This treaty also prevented Republic of China from initiating any military action against mainland China, since only Taiwan and Pescadores are included and unilateral military actions were not supported.
From the viewpoint of US Senate, in conjunction with the ratification of the MDT, a report issued Feb. 8, 1955 by the US Senate's Committee on Foreign Relations specified: "It is the view of the committee that the coming into force of the present treaty will not modify or affect the existing legal status of Formosa and the Pescadores."
To avoid any possibility of misunderstanding on this aspect of the treaty, the committee decided it would be useful to include in this report the following statement: It is the understanding of the Senate that nothing in the treaty shall be construed as affecting or modifying the legal status or sovereignty of the territories to which it applies. Reference: Appendix 17—Report on Mutual Defense Treaty with the Republic of China, U.S. Senate, Committee on Foreign Relations (1955)
Read more about this topic: Sino-American Mutual Defense Treaty
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