Chang says he will support military budget

Premier Chang Chun-hsiung (張俊雄) yesterday pledged to support a continued military buildup which he said was needed to fend off any military threat from China.

"The defense budget is one of the most important national issues," Chang said, addressing a group of senior military generals on a visit to the defense ministry.

"Despite the government's financial strain, I guarantee the national defense budget will have my full support in order to ensure a military balance in the Taiwan Strait," he said.

Minister of National Defense Wu Shih-wen (伍世文) meanwhile briefed Chang on the military buildup plans.

China has reportedly embarked on a spending spree to upgrade the capability of its military, but Western analysts say it is currently incapable of taking Taiwan.

China is reportedly mainly buying Russian weapons.

China keeps its full military budget secret, but the International Institute for Strategic Studies estimated China spent US$40 billion on defense last year.

To counter the threat, Taiwan's Cabinet has proposed to raise military expenditure by nine percent to NT$270.3 billion (US$8.4 billion).

The Chinese-language press said the defense ministry has appropriated NT$58.3 billion for 11 weaponry development projects for the new fiscal year beginning in January.

It said the most prominent schemes would be the Lushan Project and Hsiang Sheng Project.

Under the Lushan Project, the homemade Indigenous Defense Fighter (IDF, 經國號) would be refitted to be capable of absorbing or deflecting radars. The air force has 130 IDFS in service.

The Hsiang Sheng Project largely aims to restore the airborne refueling function of Mirage 2000-5s now serving in the air force which would allow them to strike Chinese targets further than Shanghai, the paper said.

The Mirage 2000's performance is reported to match the combat capabilities of the Su-27 used by the Chinese. Taiwan bought a total of 60 Mirage 2000-5 jet fighters from France in 1992. Each plane costs around US$60 million.