On Wednesday the Ministry of National Defense released its defense report for this year. By coincidence, a similar report by China has also just been released. This timing is by no means intentional, but it was certainly convenient for both reports to be published in the same month, so that the international community can compare the national defense policies of both countries.
The focus of Taiwan's report is the establishment of mutual trust across the Taiwan Strait. In the short term the ministry would like to seek goodwill and common ground on contentious issues; in the middle term it wants to establish norms of conduct and consolidate mutual trust; and in the long term it is looking to put an end to enmity and ensure peace. To realize these goals, the report suggests having a "set of norms of military conduct across the Strait" consisting of seven measures.
With all eyes on the mutual military escalation across the Taiwan Strait, this is clearly showing the softer, more peace-oriented face of Taiwan, and should give cause for reflection to China's leaders, who are refusing to rule out military force against Taiwan.
Most attention will focus on what the reports say about the development of military capability. Both reports emphasize the importance of a "revolution in military affairs." The crux of this is a reassessment of the form that any war will take, shifting the focus from a comparison of individual weapons, to one of integrated systems, including C3I systems (command, control, communication, and intelligence), and how they are integrated with weapons systems and logistics.
In recent years the military has been trying to consolidate its air power with aircraft such as the Indigenous Defense Fighter (IDF), F16 and Mirage, and naval power with Lafayette and Cheng Kung frigates, to integrate C3I and firepower systems.
In addition, the ministry is avidly trying to secure the purchase of Patriot 3 missiles, P-3C anti-submarine aircraft and diesel submarines, all of which are earmarked for integration into these systems, following the principle that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. This is all intended to act as a deterrent, to ensure that China would sustain heavy losses if it attacked Taiwan.
Since both sides are emphasizing this revolution in military affairs, any future war will consist of the orchestration of integrated systems. According to Major-General Zhang Yuliang (
Today, China's study of the integration of combined operations focuses on a naval blockade, amphibious landings and other strategies. To unify these strategies, they have focused on regulating military deployments and command structures.
Meanwhile, from the defense report, we can see that Taiwan's military build-up also focuses on the integration of various operations. This is where the key lies in the cross-strait military contest. Whoever achieves the capability for seamless combined operations will have a greater chance of victory in the event of a conflict.
Of course, peace and stability in the Strait is desired by the international community, and both sides of the Strait have a responsibility for achieving this. Taiwan expressed its goodwill by proposing military mutual trust. We certainly hope that China, which will soon publish its defense report, will express the same goodwill. The two transparent defense reports can be used as a bridge, to help achieve peace and stability across the Strait.
Yang Chih-heng is a vice professor at Tamkang University's Institute of Southeast Asian Studies.
TRANSLATED BY PAUL COOPER AND EDDY CHANG
Saudi Arabian largesse is flooding Egypt’s cultural scene, but the reception is mixed. Some welcome new “cooperation” between two regional powerhouses, while others fear a hostile takeover by Riyadh. In Cairo, historically the cultural capital of the Arab world, Egyptian Minister of Culture Nevine al-Kilany recently hosted Saudi Arabian General Entertainment Authority chairman Turki al-Sheikh. The deep-pocketed al-Sheikh has emerged as a Medici-like patron for Egypt’s cultural elite, courted by Cairo’s top talent to produce a slew of forthcoming films. A new three-way agreement between al-Sheikh, Kilany and United Media Services — a multi-media conglomerate linked to state intelligence that owns much of
The US and other countries should take concrete steps to confront the threats from Beijing to avoid war, US Representative Mario Diaz-Balart said in an interview with Voice of America on March 13. The US should use “every diplomatic economic tool at our disposal to treat China as what it is... to avoid war,” Diaz-Balart said. Giving an example of what the US could do, he said that it has to be more aggressive in its military sales to Taiwan. Actions by cross-party US lawmakers in the past few years such as meeting with Taiwanese officials in Washington and Taipei, and
The Republic of China (ROC) on Taiwan has no official diplomatic allies in the EU. With the exception of the Vatican, it has no official allies in Europe at all. This does not prevent the ROC — Taiwan — from having close relations with EU member states and other European countries. The exact nature of the relationship does bear revisiting, if only to clarify what is a very complicated and sensitive idea, the details of which leave considerable room for misunderstanding, misrepresentation and disagreement. Only this week, President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) received members of the European Parliament’s Delegation for Relations
Denmark’s “one China” policy more and more resembles Beijing’s “one China” principle. At least, this is how things appear. In recent interactions with the Danish state, such as applying for residency permits, a Taiwanese’s nationality would be listed as “China.” That designation occurs for a Taiwanese student coming to Denmark or a Danish citizen arriving in Denmark with, for example, their Taiwanese partner. Details of this were published on Sunday in an article in the Danish daily Berlingske written by Alexander Sjoberg and Tobias Reinwald. The pretext for this new practice is that Denmark does not recognize Taiwan as a state under