Great danger lurks behind the current cross-strait relationship. However, some people within Taiwan remain seriously lacking in terms of their sense of alert -- and they are the greatest hidden obstacle to the nation's efforts to build its military capability.
According to Lee Wen-chung (
Wolfowitz also warned that if Taiwan does not take self-defense seriously, neither will the US. He further said that failing to buy what he considered sufficient weaponry would be no different from encouraging China to increase its military expansion, raising the military threat against Taiwan.
During the delegation's briefing on Asia-Pacific security issues, US Pacific Fleet Commander Admiral Thomas Fargo expressed concerns about the situation, saying it made him lose sleep. Fargo said that he was very worried that the governments of the two sides may misjudge the situation and as a result trigger a war. He said a high level of economic development in China is ushering in modernization of the Chinese military, escalating Chinese threats to the rest of the region.
Some lawmakers continue to hold different opinions from these US perspectives about the special budget for arms purchases, and members of the public have also voiced their opposition or wish for alternatives. The fact-finding delegation toured US military facilities and communicated with Bush administration officials regarding arms purchases. They also listened to US analyses regarding the military status quo between the two sides of the strait and increased the chance of resolving questions surrounding arms purchases.
Some people have suggested that the US message served as a sales pitch, but this is unlikely, especially given concerns about the evolving imbalance in military power. Rather, this message voiced genuine concerns arising out of the common strategic interests of the US and Taiwan, as well as support for the value of democracy.
In recent years, Beijing has remained adamant about standing by its "one China" principle and has ruthlessly obstructed Taiwan's participation in the international community. As a result, the cross-strait relationship gradually deteriorated. Since the recent presidential election, in particular, Taiwan consciousness has entered the mainstream, prompting China to further reveal its willingness and ambition to deal with Taiwan through military means. The Taiwan Strait for a moment seemed to be on the brink of a military conflict. In times like this, in dealing with the issue of arms purchases, it is necessary to see things from the standpoint of the needs of the national security, rather than blindly opposing military purchases on the grounds of prices, political differences or a potential arms race between the two sides.
The more tense the cross-strait relationship becomes, the more our countrymen need to have an accurate sense about who our enemies are. There should not be any more wishful thinking that so long as our side does not purchase advanced arms systems, then the other side will not create a military conflict.
The worrying thing is this confused logic does exist in the minds of some of our countrymen. Therefore, the opposition party has done everything within its power to obstruct the pro-posed arms purchases. A nonpartisan group even took to the streets to demonstrate their opposition to an arms race.
Under normal circumstances, we of course support spending most of the state budget on education, social welfare, national health insurance and fundamental infrastructure,to improve the welfare of the people. However, China has more than 500 missiles targeting Taiwan.
If Taiwan is unwilling to purchase arms to strengthen its own self-defense capability, it will have problems surviving, let alone protecting other rights of its citizens. Therefore on the issue of arms purchases, the people of Taiwan must debate the fundamental upsides and downsides with pragmatism and objectivity. They must not make decisions based on blind emotions, which will only hurt themselves.
In addition, we are even more worried that the opposition parties cannot stop their obstructionism when it comes to arms purchases, which adds a measure of uncertainty to the process. Taiwan's second-generation arms systems comprise primarily F-16 fighter jets, Mirage 2000 fighter jets and Lafayette submarines. But facing large-scale arms expansions by China in recent years, Taiwan needs to strengthen its anti-submarine and anti-missile capabilities so as to construct a more complete arms network.
The arms that the US government has agreed to sell to Taiwan will supplement the gaps in the existing network. If Taiwan misses this chance, an imbalance in cross-strait military power will begin between next year and 2010, which will probably bring irreparable harm to the people of Taiwan.
However, the pan-blue alliance, which has no awareness of what is at stake, has not only obstructed arms purchases but has also gone as far as denouncing the arms purchase plans and making President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) look bad by depicting these purchases as a case of Taiwan selling out to the US.
As a result of such irrational attitudes on the part of the pan-blue alliance, when former American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) chairwoman Therese Shaheen, who is very friendly toward Taiwan, visited Taipei to accept an award from Chen, some pan-blue politicians called the award "despicable" and said it was like "slapping the face of the US government."
After Shaheen became AIT chairwoman in 2002, she offered Taiwan much help on various important issues. Of all US presidents over the years, US President George W. Bush's friendliness toward Taiwan is almost unprecedented. This has to do with Shaheen's friendliness toward Taiwan and the way she accurately conveyed US policy. As indicated by Chen, Shaheen is Taiwan's best friend and a guardian angel of Taiwan's people.
However, People First Party (PFP) Chairman James Soong (宋楚瑜) actually speculated whether such a good American friend was an arms dealer. Doesn't he know that when the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), which he served for decades, was in power the military budget took up a percentage of the total budget that was far higher than it is now? At that time it was even more difficult to buy advanced arms systems. Now that our US ally is willing to sell such arms, some oppose the purchase for a variety of reasons. Such conduct should be described as despicable.
Shaheen has said that if the world is a seashell, then Taiwan is the most shining pearl. Over the past decades, Taiwan has created both political and economic miracles, evolving into a role model for developing countries. Shaheen's words were certainly no exaggeration. The preciousness and the beauty of Taiwan is for the world to see. Unfortunately, this has in turn increased China's desire for Taiwan. However, while Chinese aggression may bring fear, the biggest threat to Taiwan is internal division. If political parties can think from the standpoint of the national interest and uniformly support arms purchases, then Taiwan will continue to shine like a pearl.
Recently, China launched another diplomatic offensive against Taiwan, improperly linking its “one China principle” with UN General Assembly Resolution 2758 to constrain Taiwan’s diplomatic space. After Taiwan’s presidential election on Jan. 13, China persuaded Nauru to sever diplomatic ties with Taiwan. Nauru cited Resolution 2758 in its declaration of the diplomatic break. Subsequently, during the WHO Executive Board meeting that month, Beijing rallied countries including Venezuela, Zimbabwe, Belarus, Egypt, Nicaragua, Sri Lanka, Laos, Russia, Syria and Pakistan to reiterate the “one China principle” in their statements, and assert that “Resolution 2758 has settled the status of Taiwan” to hinder Taiwan’s
Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s (李顯龍) decision to step down after 19 years and hand power to his deputy, Lawrence Wong (黃循財), on May 15 was expected — though, perhaps, not so soon. Most political analysts had been eyeing an end-of-year handover, to ensure more time for Wong to study and shadow the role, ahead of general elections that must be called by November next year. Wong — who is currently both deputy prime minister and minister of finance — would need a combination of fresh ideas, wisdom and experience as he writes the nation’s next chapter. The world that
The past few months have seen tremendous strides in India’s journey to develop a vibrant semiconductor and electronics ecosystem. The nation’s established prowess in information technology (IT) has earned it much-needed revenue and prestige across the globe. Now, through the convergence of engineering talent, supportive government policies, an expanding market and technologically adaptive entrepreneurship, India is striving to become part of global electronics and semiconductor supply chains. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Vision of “Make in India” and “Design in India” has been the guiding force behind the government’s incentive schemes that span skilling, design, fabrication, assembly, testing and packaging, and
Can US dialogue and cooperation with the communist dictatorship in Beijing help avert a Taiwan Strait crisis? Or is US President Joe Biden playing into Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) hands? With America preoccupied with the wars in Europe and the Middle East, Biden is seeking better relations with Xi’s regime. The goal is to responsibly manage US-China competition and prevent unintended conflict, thereby hoping to create greater space for the two countries to work together in areas where their interests align. The existing wars have already stretched US military resources thin, and the last thing Biden wants is yet another war.