The latest report by the Ministry of National Defense confirming the growing cross-strait military imbalance has revived concerns from opposition lawmakers that President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) policy of reducing military tensions has gone virtually ignored by Beijing.
“Frankly, it’s a slap in the face for the president. It cuts through all his lies,” Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Chen Ting-fei (陳亭妃) said. “He says we will achieve cross-strait peace if we don’t unify, don’t declare independence and reduce the size of our military, but my question is: Where is this so-called peace?”
In its annual report on the Chinese military released to legislators on Tuesday, defense officials wrote that despite warmer cross-strait ties, Beijing has continued to dramatically increase its military capacity — most of it centered on Taiwan — and that Chinese opposition against US military sales was at an historic high.
Taiwan’s defense spending is expected to hit its lowest level in five years, accounting for about 2.73 percent of GDP for the next fiscal year, less than the 3 percent promised by the president in 2008. Secret operations by the military are expected to suffer the largest cut, by as much as 38 percent.
DPP Legislator Huang Wei-cher (黃偉哲), who called the report’s analysis “an already conservative estimate,” said the president was too “naive” to properly assess Beijing’s intentions.
“All the president sees is the olive branch China is holding in one hand, but he fails to notice the AK-47 [assault rifle] it is holding in the other,” Huang said.
Once the balance in the Taiwan Strait has tipped far enough, Beijing will have the upper hand in future cross-strait negotiations, Huang said.
Earlier this month, a Pentagon report on China’s military capabilities concluded that Beijing was rapidly expanding its armed forces “to deter, delay or deny” any possible US support for Taiwan in case of conflict.
It also warned that despite Taiwan’s efforts to increase economic and cultural ties, China’s military buildup continues unabated.
An important issue hampering Taiwan’s defense capabilities is a political promise by Ma to start implementing an all-volunteer military before his term expires.
Huang said the decision, which would bring standing army numbers to a historic low, would cost the military financially.
While the defense budget is being cut, increasing sums are being diverted to pay for salaries and other personnel costs instead of investments in new military technology and hardware, he said. The result is a growing imbalance not only in the quantity of cross-strait military personnel, but also in the quality of its hardware, he said.
Taiwan has an estimated 130,000 active army personnel, while the People’s Liberation Army has about 1.25 million ground forces, of which 400,000 are based near the Taiwan Strait.
“The US, Japan and other countries all see these new developments; even our own defense ministry has admitted that the military imbalance is growing. But yet our own president can’t face up to the truth,” Huang said.
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