In its annual report on the Chinese military, the Ministry of National Defense yesterday said that despite warmer cross-strait ties, China’s military budget was still growing substantially.
Although the global economic crisis has generally eased, with most countries focused on stimulating their economies and reducing national defense spending, the budget for the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) for this year is US$78 billion, a 7.5 percent increase from last year, the report said. The report said this was a sign that Beijing was using its economic growth to fund military expansion.
In contrast, Taiwan continues to cut defense spending, with the military’s budget for next year at its lowest level in five years, the report said, which was submitted to the legislature.
Taiwan’s defense budget for next year is NT$297.2 billion (US$9.27 billion), NT$200 million less than for this year and accounting for 16.6 percent of the nation’s entire budget, the report said.
The ministry has allocated NT$77.6 billion for the construction of living quarters for military personnel and their families, which brings the ministry’s full budget to NT$374.8 billion, or 2.73 percent of GDP — still less than the 3 percent promised by President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) and the level it was at before the Democratic Progressive Party came to power in 2000.
The report said cross-strait relations had improved since 2008, substantiating Chinese President Hu Jintao’s (胡錦濤) “soft strategy on soft issues” avoiding sovereignty.
Despite these developments, the report said, Beijing’s opposition to US military sales to Taiwan was stronger than ever. Beijing suspended US-China high-level military exchanges over a US$6.4 billion arms package earlier this year, saying the sale interfered with China’s “domestic” affairs.
This reaction means that although relations between Taipei and Beijing have improved, China has never abandoned the option of using military force against Taiwan.
The likelihood of such military action would be contingent on a number of developments, including a move by Taiwanese authorities toward de jure independence, the enactment of a new Constitution, a referendum on independence, serious riots or natural disasters making it impossible for the Taiwanese government to operate, Taiwan procuring weapons of mass destruction, foreign intervention in Taiwan’s domestic affairs or an international situation and military imbalance favoring use of force to resolve the Taiwan issue, the report said.
The report said that although Beijing has not urged action in launching “unification” talks with Taipei, it has more insistent about starting political negotiations, through which Beijing would seek to confirm Taiwan’s political status.
Meanwhile, a legislator yesterday said Taiwan plans to deploy cruise missiles by the end of this year.
Taiwan began mass producing Hsiung Feng 2E, or “Brave Wind,” cruise missiles after acquiring “key components” needed to manufacture the missiles and will start deploying them this year, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Lin Yu-fang (林郁方) said.
Lin declined to specify the range of the missiles or the number to be put into service.
A source close to the ministry said the military “has produced dozens of cruise missiles.”
Ma gave an order in 2008 for the production of 300 Hsiung Feng 2E cruise missiles, the Chinese-language China Times said.
The paper said the Hsiung Feng 2E, which was developed by the military-run Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology, has a range of about 800km. It can be launched on land or at sea and is reportedly capable of hitting airports and missile bases in southeast China, as well as Shanghai and Hong Kong.
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