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Ministry steps up weapons campaign

Premier Frank Hsieh, left, and Minister of National Defense Lee Jye answer legislators' questions on the weapons procurement package at the legislature yesterday. PHOTO: FANG PING-CHAO, TAIPEI TIMES

The Ministry of National Defense yesterday launched a new campaign promoting the NT$610.8 (US$19.8 billion) bill to procure arms from the US to coincide with the opening of the new legislative term.

"The new wave of publicity skirts sensitive political issues and focuses instead on the significance of national security. We hope to win greater public backing," Political Warfare Department director-general Hu Chen-pu (胡鎮埔) said at a press conference.

He admitted that last year's campaign urging people to "save a cup of tea every day in exchange for weapons" sparked controversy and did little to facilitate passage of the bill.

Hu said China has just released its annual military budget, which features a 12.5 percent increase in spending on last year.

But China is thought to conceal a large amount of additional military spending within other budgets, so foreign observers have estimated the country's actual military spending at two to three times the official figure, Hu said.

The nation therefore cannot ignore the tipping of the cross-strait military balance, he said.

Hu said the new campaign relies on expert opinion that aggressor nations with three times the military force of a vulnerable nation will win in any conflict, that two times the military force will mean the result is uncertain, but that if the figure is less than one-and-a-half times, victory is not possible.

Ministry research found that the procurement of the desired weapons would close the military gap with China to a factor of 1.67, thereby ensuring Taiwan's security for about 30 years.

Hu said that while some legislators were keen on the idea of approving the arms deal through a referendum, defense issues were a professional matter not suited to a plebiscite.

The new campaign also uses former US president Ronald Reagan's famous words "peace through strength" and the Chinese proverb "no eggs are unbroken when the nest is overturned" on its posters.

The campaign says the procurement package keeps Taiwan up to speed with the rest of the world.

It asks why the US, Japan and the Netherlands purchased Patriot Advanced Capability-3 (PAC-3) missile batteries, why 16 countries, including Japan and South Korea, use P-3C maritime patrol aircraft, and why China strongly opposes the sale of US submarines to Taiwan. The reply is that these are advanced arms.

Hu said the ministry will adopt a three-pronged strategy targeting the public, legislative caucuses and individual legislators to increase understanding of the issue. The campaign will run in newspapers and on TV, as well as on buses and the MRT in Taipei.

Minister of National Defense Lee Jye (李傑) has announced that the NT$610.8 billion weapons procurement expenditure could be cut down to NT$590 billion, reflecting the weakness of the US dollar, and even reduced to NT$480 billion if Taiwan elects not to purchase eight diesel submarines from the US.

However, opposition legislators have asked the ministry to cut the budget by at least NT$380 billion.

The biggest-ever weapons procurement plan in the nation's history would purchase three major items -- three PAC-3 missile batteries, 12 P-3C maritime patrol aircraft and the eight diesel-powered submarines.
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