We welcome the U.S. Army, Navy, and Air Force to establish military bases, harbors, airports, etc. in Taiwan.

Please continue reading to see the content of such a proof.

But before we examine the relationship between Taiwan and the USA based on “US insular law” principles, let’s look at some important Background Information

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

Does the content of the Taiwan Relations Act forbid Taiwan as being recognized as an overseas territory of the United States?

It certainly doesn’t.

Let’s do a brief overview of Taiwan’s recent history and true legal situation.

First, let’s define the term

insular

The definition of "insular" is --
　(a) of or relating to an island or islands,
　(b) dwelling or situated on an island.

POPULATED U.S. INSULAR AREAS

In this report, we will confine our discussion of U.S. insular areas to those which have their own native population, and have not yet achieved “statehood” in the United States.

Another name for “insular areas” is “overseas territories.”

Let’s look at the insular areas of the United States

As a result of the Spanish American War of 1898, a number of populated insular areas came under United States' jurisdiction. We may describe them as Type 1 Insular Areas.

These areas were Puerto Rico, Guam, the Philippines, and Cuba.

What were the qualifying criteria for these areas to become Type 1 Insular Areas of the United States? For each area, we quickly note the following common characteristics.

These may be called the Six Qualifying Criteria for recognition as a Type 1 Insular Area of the United States.

We must stress that:
　Due to the acts of conquest, and the coming into force of the Spanish-American Peace Treaty on April 11, 1899, Puerto Rico, Guam, the Philippines, and Cuba were all under the military jurisdiction of the United States.

“By the law of nations a conquered territory is subject to be governed by the conqueror during his military possession . . . . “

In other words,
　Before the establishment of "civil government" authorized or recognized by the United States, all of these areas were under the jurisdiction of the United States Military Government (USMG).

Additionally,
　When speaking of military jurisdiction, it is important to understand the concept of “military government.”

“Military government” is defined as the form of administration by which an occupying power exercises government authority over occupied territory.

Another phrasing of the above definition is to say that --
　Territory over which “military government” has jurisdiction is territory under military occupation.

A detailed definition of “military government” was originally given in an early U.S . Supreme Court case --
Ex Parte Milligan (1866)

Let’s look again at our Six Qualifying Criteria for recognition as a Type 1 Insular Areas of the United States, and confirm the situations of Puerto Rico, Guam, the Philippines, and Cuba.

Criteria	Puerto Rico	Guam	Philippines	Cuba
1) There was a formal declaration of war
2) Each area was conquered by U.S. military forces
3) After the surrender ceremonies, there was a formal peace treaty
4) The USA is the legal occupier
5) The territorial sovereignty of the original "mother country" was ended via the terms of the peace treaty
6) The jurisdiction of the United States over each area has been specified in the peace treaty

Now let’s look at the situation of Taiwan. The Qing Dynasty of China had ceded Taiwan to Japan in an 1895 treaty. The United States recognized Taiwan as an “insular area of Japan” in the 1922 Washington Naval Treaty, thus confirming the validity of the 1895 cession.

Criteria	Commentary
1) There was a formal declaration of war	The United States declared war on Japan on Dec. 8, 1941
2) The area was conquered by U.S. military forces	Examining the historical record of the WWII period, over 98% of military attacks against Taiwan were made by US military forces. Hence, the United States’ role in Taiwan is the “conqueror” and therefore “the legal occupier”
3) After the surrender ceremonies, there was a formal peace treaty	The San Francisco Peace Treaty came into force on April 28, 1952
4) The USA is the legal occupier	The treaty identifies the United States of America as the “principal occupying power” in Article 23
5) The territorial sovereignty of the original "mother country" was ended via the terms of the peace treaty	According to the specifications of Article 2(b) of the treaty, Japan’s sovereignty over Taiwan was ended as of April 28, 1952
6) The jurisdiction of the United States over the area has been specified in the peace treaty	Article 4(b) of the peace treaty clearly specifies USMG jurisdiction over the Article 2 territory of Taiwan

It is important to note that in the situations of Puerto Rico, the Philippines, Guam, Cuba, and other areas, the end of USMG jurisdiction was formally announced by the US Commander in Chief. For Taiwan, there has been no similar announcement from the period of April 1952 to the present.

Hence, we can see that Taiwan’s fulfillment of the requirements to be recognized as a TYPE 1 US insular area is

But many people wonder if we can find justification or verification for such an interpretation in U.S. constitutional law?

The answer is yes. In the American Insurance Company case (1828), the US

Supreme Court held that:
　"The Constitution confers absolutely on the government of the Union the powers of making war and of making treaties; consequently, that government possesses the power of acquiring territory, either by conquest or by treaty."

Some people will still ask:
　Is such rationale still valid in the current era?

This is an important question. Most significantly, in order to understand this American Insurance Company ruling in light of the Geneva Conventions (1864, 1906, 1929, & 1949) and the Hague Conventions (1899 & 1907), we must fully recognize that –

　International law of the post-Napoleonic period does not recognize any criteria whereby territory can be annexed immediately after the surrender of the local military troops.

Hence, the “acquirement” of territory as the result of “conquest,” as spoken of in this 1828 Supreme Court ruling, must be understood to indicate that there is a period of military occupation.

Military occupation, as was stated above, is conducted under military government.

We will review this as follows --
　“Military government” is defined as the form of administration by which an occupying power exercises government authority over occupied territory.

Additionally, the Hague and Geneva Conventions specify a wide range of activities which are forbidden in occupied territory.

One notable activity which is forbidden in occupied territory is –
　 the enforcement of military conscription policies over the local populace

Unfortunately, in the current era, many people mistakenly believe that Taiwan belongs to the Republic of China (ROC). For over seventy years, the ROC government officials have publicly proclaimed that WWII in the Pacific ended in the Fall of 1945, and the territorial sovereignty of “Formosa and the Pescadores” (now commonly called “Taiwan”) was transferred to the ROC upon the completion of the Japanese surrender ceremonies on Oct. 25, 1945, in Taipei.

Let’s look at the following Questions and Answers.