Considering that the idea of "offshore engagement" has now been thoroughly adopted by Taiwan's armed forces, it is hard to imagine that only a year ago it was so contentious an issue.
The policy, first spelled out by President Chen Shui-bian (
Given that an invasion force is at its maximum vulnerability when at sea, Chen's initiative might have seemed like common sense. But from the very beginning, the offshore engagement policy met strong opposition from conservatives both inside and outside the military because they, perhaps deliberately, misconstrued the term as indicating provocative, perhaps preemptive action.
A hot debate on the topic arose after Chen elucidated the policy during a speech he made at the 76th anniversary of the army academy last June.
Opposition from conservatives subsequently prompted Chen to keep quiet about the policy and for a while it appeared as if the conservatives had won the debate and forced the president to abandon the idea.
This in turn led the military itself to take the initiative to defend Chen by pointing out that his offshore engagement policy did not conflict with what was already the military's long-term defense strategy. In July, General Tang Yao-ming (
"Taiwan's military does not have the capability to project forces into China. Nor do we plan to do that," Tang said at the press conference. "But our air force and navy do have the capability to carry out missions in the category of offshore engagement," he said.
Tang denied that the offshore engagement strategy was a new concept for the armed forces since it fell into the traditional thinking of the military in respect to how to defend the country.
"Our defense strategy has always been not to let any fighting happen on Taiwan proper. The concept of offshore engagement is consistent with our defense thinking over the past few decades," Tang said.
Tang's defense of Chen gave the president a powerful boost by showing that the military fully supported him on the issue.
But such support was not forthcoming from Tang Fei (
In the face of opposition to the term "offshore engagement," the military chose not to openly announce its adoption as a policy but nevertheless put the concept into practice.
Andrew Yang (楊念祖), secretary-general of the Chinese Council of Advanced Policy Studies, said the military prefers to use the term "offensive capability," the substance of which is quite close to Chen's idea of offshore engagement.
"Another defense strategy idea of Chen's, developing `mobile strike' capability, is also taking shape in the military. It seems that the military is getting closer in thought to Chen," Yang said.
The navy's recently developed defense strategy, which will use Kidd-class destroyers to be bought from the US, is a demonstration of how the military has quietly put the offshore engagement policy into practice without saying so out loud.
The new defense strategy is to have the four Kidds patrol off the eastern coast during peacetime and enter the Taiwan Strait from the north and south in time of war. The tactic is aimed at bottling up enemy ships in the Taiwan Strait without letting them get close to Taiwan proper, thus achieving an offshore engagement effect.
Unlike the offshore engagement policy which has been stealthily put into practice, Chen's "three assurances" policy was roundly welcomed by military personnel.
The three assurances attempt to guarantee training safety for troops, a steady life and better living standards for servicemen. The policy was introduced after Chen became president.
A defense official, who declined to be identified, said the three assurances policy meant a big improvement in servicemen's working environment and income.
"We hope that Chen will carry out his promise. We do hope for a better working environment in the military. What we wish for most is a pay raise," the official said.
"Servicemen work 24 hours a day. But our pay is, comparatively speaking, lower than our civilian counterparts, like the police. We hope the president will give us a reasonable increase in income in the future," he said.
The Ministry of National Defense is now working on plans for a pay raise for servicemen, intending to implement it in the next few years.
But these plans cannot be realized unless there is a further reduction of military personnel.
To make the pay raise plans possible, the military intends to further reduce troop numbers from the current 380,000 to around 350,000. Chen has said that the ideal number of troops for Taiwan is 300,000.
NO-LIMITS PARTNERSHIP: ‘The bottom line’ is that if the US were to have a conflict with China or Russia it would likely open up a second front with the other, a US senator said Beijing and Moscow could cooperate in a conflict over Taiwan, the top US intelligence chief told the US Senate this week. “We see China and Russia, for the first time, exercising together in relation to Taiwan and recognizing that this is a place where China definitely wants Russia to be working with them, and we see no reason why they wouldn’t,” US Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines told a US Senate Committee on Armed Services hearing on Thursday. US Senator Mike Rounds asked Haines about such a potential scenario. He also asked US Defense Intelligence Agency Director Lieutenant General Jeffrey Kruse
INSPIRING: Taiwan has been a model in the Asia-Pacific region with its democratic transition, free and fair elections and open society, the vice president-elect said Taiwan can play a leadership role in the Asia-Pacific region, vice president-elect Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) told a forum in Taipei yesterday, highlighting the nation’s resilience in the face of geopolitical challenges. “Not only can Taiwan help, but Taiwan can lead ... not only can Taiwan play a leadership role, but Taiwan’s leadership is important to the world,” Hsiao told the annual forum hosted by the Center for Asia-Pacific Resilience and Innovation think tank. Hsiao thanked Taiwan’s international friends for their long-term support, citing the example of US President Joe Biden last month signing into law a bill to provide aid to Taiwan,
China’s intrusive and territorial claims in the Indo-Pacific region are “illegal, coercive, aggressive and deceptive,” new US Indo-Pacific Commander Admiral Samuel Paparo said on Friday, adding that he would continue working with allies and partners to keep the area free and open. Paparo made the remarks at a change-of-command ceremony at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam in Hawaii, where he took over the command from Admiral John Aquilino. “Our world faces a complex problem set in the troubling actions of the People’s Republic of China [PRC] and its rapid buildup of forces. We must be ready to answer the PRC’s increasingly intrusive and
STATE OF THE NATION: The legislature should invite the president to deliver an address every year, the TPP said, adding that Lai should also have to answer legislators’ questions The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) yesterday proposed inviting president-elect William Lai (賴清德) to make a historic first state of the nation address at the legislature following his inauguration on May 20. Lai is expected to face many domestic and international challenges, and should clarify his intended policies with the public’s representatives, KMT caucus secretary-general Hung Meng-kai (洪孟楷) said when making the proposal at a meeting of the legislature’s Procedure Committee. The committee voted to add the item to the agenda for Friday, along with another similar proposal put forward by the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP). The invitation is in line with Article 15-2