The Ministry of National Defense yesterday unveiled its biennial white paper on national defense, outlining doctrinal changes that emphasize asymmetric warfare and layered defense.
The 2017 National Defense Report reiterates the military’s commitment to an all-volunteer force and the indigenous development of military aircraft and warships.
“We are cognizant that our nation cannot compare with the defense budget and military development in China, whose military’s pace of growth and strength have far exceeded expectations,” Minister of National Defense Feng Shih-kuan (馮世寬) said in the report.
Photo: Huang Yao-cheng, Taipei Times
“Consequently, we must employ vision and foresight in our adjustment of defense concepts and overall armament development,” he said.
China has acquired the ability to execute long-range sea and air operations, and it is pushing the reach of its force projection to the areas west of the second island chain, the report said.
The second island chain refers to Japan’s Bonin Islands and Volcano Islands, and the US’ Mariana Islands.
Those developments necessitate a change in the nation’s strategy from “strong defense and effective deterrence” — which had been in effect since 2009 — to “strong defense and layered deterrence,” the report said.
Strong defense refers to in-depth defense, improving combat sustainability, protecting command and control infrastructure from cyberthreats, and developing strategic endurance, it said.
Layered deterrence involves using “innovative and asymmetrical warfare” that confronts the enemy with multiple dilemmas to achieve deterrence, it said.
The overall military strategy in a defensive war is to achieve “force preservation, win decisive battles in littoral waters and annihilate the enemy on the beachhead,” the report said.
It is desirable for the military to acquire precision-guided munitions, electronic countermeasures, guided anti-tank missiles, man-portable air defense systems, fast multiple-role warships, uncrewed aerial vehicles and naval minelaying capabilities, among others, the report said.
The report listed Chinese air and sea drills conducted between Aug. 18 last year and Dec. 11, including 23 air patrols and two aircraft carrier exercises in proximity to Taiwan’s territorial waters or air defense identification zone.
The ministry will stop giving news briefings on ongoing Chinese military exercises near Taiwan, ministry spokesman Major General Chen Chung-chi (陳中吉) told a news conference in Taipei.
“When Chinese aircraft and ships are not posing any more threat to us than usual, we see no need to help them with their propaganda,” he said.
A magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck off Yilan at 11:05pm yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The epicenter was located at sea, about 32.3km east of Yilan County Hall, at a depth of 72.8km, CWA data showed There were no immediate reports of damage. The intensity of the quake, which gauges the actual effect of a seismic event, measured 4 in Yilan County area on Taiwan’s seven-tier intensity scale, the data showed. It measured 4 in other parts of eastern, northern and central Taiwan as well as Tainan, and 3 in Kaohsiung and Pingtung County, and 2 in Lienchiang and Penghu counties and 1
FOREIGN INTERFERENCE: Beijing would likely intensify public opinion warfare in next year’s local elections to prevent Lai from getting re-elected, the ‘Yomiuri Shimbun’ said Internal documents from a Chinese artificial intelligence (AI) company indicated that China has been using the technology to intervene in foreign elections, including propaganda targeting Taiwan’s local elections next year and presidential elections in 2028, a Japanese newspaper reported yesterday. The Institute of National Security of Vanderbilt University obtained nearly 400 pages of documents from GoLaxy, a company with ties to the Chinese government, and found evidence that it had apparently deployed sophisticated, AI-driven propaganda campaigns in Hong Kong and Taiwan to shape public opinion, the Yomiuri Shimbun reported. GoLaxy provides insights, situation analysis and public opinion-shaping technology by conducting network surveillance
Taiwan is gearing up to celebrate the New Year at events across the country, headlined by the annual countdown and Taipei 101 fireworks display at midnight. Many of the events are to be livesteamed online. See below for lineups and links: Taipei Taipei’s New Year’s Party 2026 is to begin at 7pm and run until 1am, with the theme “Sailing to the Future.” South Korean girl group KARA is headlining the concert at Taipei City Hall Plaza, with additional performances by Amber An (安心亞), Nick Chou (周湯豪), hip-hop trio Nine One One (玖壹壹), Bii (畢書盡), girl group Genblue (幻藍小熊) and more. The festivities are to
Auckland rang in 2026 with a downtown fireworks display launched from New Zealand’s tallest structure, Sky Tower, making it the first major city to greet the new year at a celebration dampened by rain, while crowds in Taipei braved the elements to watch Taipei 101’s display. South Pacific countries are the first to bid farewell to 2025. Clocks struck midnight in Auckland, with a population of 1.7 million, 18 hours before the famous ball was to drop in New York’s Times Square. The five-minute display involved 3,500 fireworks launched from the 240m Sky Tower. Smaller community events were canceled across New Zealand’s
RSS