Taiwan’s declining defense budget could encourage Beijing to use military force to achieve its political objectives, a new research paper from the US-China Economic and Security Review Commission said.
The nation’s “diminishing ability” to maintain a credible deterrent capability could provide “incentives and create opportunities” for China, it said.
Beijing might “take a greater risk in its approach to cross-strait relations, including pressuring Taipei to move towards political talks or using military force to achieve political objectives,” the report said.
The report, Taiwan’s Declining Defense Spending, was published on Tuesday by the US congressionally appointed commission, which is assigned to investigate the national security implications of US trade with China.
Prepared by senior policy analyst Craig Murray and researcher Kyle Churchman, the report said that as Taiwan “struggles” with its declining military preparedness, Taipei may seek to develop closer political ties with Washington.
It said that Taiwan’s primary security objectives are to defend against China’s efforts to force “reunification” and preserve cross-strait peace and stability.
“While Taiwan’s military over the last decade has made some improvements, it has focused largely on sustaining existing capabilities,” the report added.
China’s rapid military modernization during this time has “negated” many of the military advantages Taiwan previously held over China, the report said.
However, despite its growing military disadvantage relative to China, Taiwan’s defense budget continues to decline, the report said, falling from US$10.6 billion last year to US$10.5 billion this year.
According to the Congressional Research Service, Taiwan’s current defense spending represents 2.1 percent of GDP.
“This is considerably less than three percent of GDP — the level at which President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) pledged to maintain defense spending — and marks a substantial decrease from 3.8 percent of GDP in 1994,” the report said.
It added that official statements and documents suggest that Taiwan’s government judges the current level of defense spending to be sufficient and it is likely to remain stagnant through at least the end of Ma’s term in 2016 as he focuses on continuing to improve cross-strait relations and strengthening “soft power” approaches to deterrence.
The report said that Ma appears to have little incentive to increase the defense budget since improved cross-strait relations have reduced public perception of the China threat in Taiwan.
“Domestic and social welfare issues have become more salient as Taiwan’s economy attempts to recover from the global financial crisis and its workforce ages,” it said.
If spending continues to fall, Taiwan’s military may find it hard to maintain current operational capabilities, readiness levels and equipment inventories, it added.
“Taiwan also could find it increasingly difficult to make progress toward key modernization goals, such as preparing for a wider range of missions at greater distances from Taiwan and integrating innovative and asymmetric capabilities into its military,” the report said.
The first two F-16V Bock 70 jets purchased from the US are expected to arrive in Taiwan around Double Ten National Day, which is on Oct. 10, a military source said yesterday. Of the 66 F-16V Block 70 jets purchased from the US, the first completed production in March, the source said, adding that since then three jets have been produced per month. Although there were reports of engine defects, the issue has been resolved, they said. After the jets arrive in Taiwan, they must first pass testing by the air force before they would officially become Taiwan’s property, they said. The air force
GLOBAL: Although Matsu has limited capacity for large numbers of domestic tourists, it would be a great high-end destination for international travelers, an official said Lienchiang County’s (Matsu) unique landscape and Cold War history give it great potential to be marketed as a destination for international travelers, Tourism Administration Director General Chen Yu-hsiu (陳玉秀) said at the weekend. Tourism officials traveled to the outlying island for the Matsu Biennial, an art festival that started on Friday to celebrate Matsu’s culture, history and landscape. Travelers to Matsu, which lies about 190km northwest of Taipei, must fly or take the state-run New Taima passenger ship. However, flights are often canceled during fog season from April to June. Chen spoke about her vision to promote Matsu as a tourist attraction in
PAWSITIVE IMPACT: A shop owner said that while he adopted cats to take care of rodents, they have also attracted younger visitors who also buy his dried goods In Taipei’s Dadaocheng (大稻埕), cats lounging in shops along Dihua Street do more than nap amid the scent of dried seafood. Many have become beloved fixtures who double as photography models, attracting visitors and helping boost sales in one of the capital’s most historic quarters. A recent photo contest featuring more than a dozen shop cats drew more than 2,200 submissions, turning everyday cat-spotting into a friendly competition that attracted amateur and professional photographers. “It’s rare to see cats standing, so when it suddenly did, it felt like a lucky cat,” said Sabrina Hsu (徐淳蔚), who won the NT$10,000 top prize in
STRIKE: Some travel agencies in Taiwan said that they were aware of the situation in South Korea, and that group tours to the country were proceeding as planned A planned strike by airport personnel in South Korea has not affected group tours to the country from Taiwan, travel agencies said yesterday. They added that they were closely monitoring the situation. Personnel at 15 airports, including Seoul’s Incheon and Gimpo airports, are to go on strike. They announced at a news conference on Tuesday that the strike would begin on Friday next week and continue until the Mid-Autumn Festival next month. Some travel agencies in Taiwan, including Cola Tour, Lion Travel, SET Tour and ezTravel, said that they were aware of the situation in South Korea, and that group
RSS