President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday vowed that Taiwan would continue to increase defense spending, develop its indigenous defense industry and work with like-minded partners to contribute to regional peace and security.
“Taiwan is truly aware that regional and global security are inseparable from our safety and prosperity,” Tsai said at the Ketagalan Forum: 2018 Asia Pacific Security Dialogue, an annual event hosted by the government-affiliated Prospect Foundation.
“To do our part, we are committed to a robust defense and deterrence forces,” she said. “Our defense expenditures will keep pace with our needs and GDP growth, and we are developing our indigenous defense industry as well.”
Tsai’s remarks came after the US Department of State urged Taiwan to increase its defense budget to a level commensurate with its security challenges.
A department spokesperson made the remark when asked about what Minister of Foreign Affairs Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) had said a day earlier regarding Taiwan’s need for continual support from the US in the face of China’s growing military threat.
Although the government has repeatedly pledged to boost defense spending since Tsai took office in May 2016, actual spending increases have been small, including a 1.9 percent increase for fiscal 2018.
That has left military spending at about 2 percent of GDP, far short of the 3 percent of GDP that Tsai envisioned when taking office.
Tsai in October last year committed to 2 percent annual increases in defense spending, with a possible additional 1 percent increase for special weapons procurements.
She offered no specifics on spending increases in her opening speech at the forum, focusing instead on trends in regional security and warning against China’s continuing threat.
The political, economic and military dynamics of the region have been evolving rapidly over the past year, with some developments creating opportunities, such as the summit between US President Donald Trump and North Korea leader Kim Jong-un last month, Tsai said.
“But others are creating challenges,” she said. “Those challenges, both traditional and non-traditional, are undermining our shared democratic values and the rules-based international order that has helped this region establish peace, stability and prosperity since the end of World War II.”
In facing the challenges, countries in the region need not respond alone, because “our shared values are a common bond for all of us here,” she added.
“We can work together to ensure that future global security won’t be determined by military or economic might. Instead, it will be guided by the values of freedom and democracy,” Tsai said, adding that this approach has been adopted by her administration.
Tsai said that the New Southbound Policy launched by her administration is one of Taiwan’s major efforts to advance shared values and interests.
“The aim is to coordinate our efforts and create a prosperous future for all,” she said, adding that hosting the Ketagalan Forum was another example of working together and promoting shared values.
The forum was inaugurated last year to enable government officials to discuss changes in the region’s geopolitical landscape with local and international experts, and to determine how best to enhance cooperation in addressing emerging security challenges.
“It is heartening to see that even as the world changes, our commitment to our shared values is unshakable,” Tsai said to the hundreds of attendees, including former US secretary of defense Ash Carter and experts from the US, Japan, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand, India, Vietnam and Malaysia.
“The only way we can jointly respond to evolving global challenges is by strengthening our regional and global partnerships,” Tsai said.
LIABILITIES MULLED: New Taipei City Mayor Hou You-yi said Taipei would find out if the firm was legally registered, the guide was licensed and the weather was assessed The assets of Tian Da Local Nature Co are to be frozen after at least four people died after falling into the Beishi River (北勢溪) on an outing the company had organized on Saturday, the Taipei City Government said yesterday. Six people — two adults and four children — were washed away by a flash flood on the river in New Taipei City’s Hubaotan (虎豹潭) area. They were participating in a Nature Joy Camp outdoor activity with a group of 16 adults and 15 children led by a guide surnamed Su (蘇). As of 4:30pm yesterday, four of the missing had been
Taiwanese worked more hours than people in all but three other countries in the world last year, Ministry of Labor data showed. Singapore placed first in average hours worked among the 40 economies surveyed, with an average of 2,288 hours per worker last year, the data showed. The city-state was followed by Colombia with 2,172 hours — based on 2019 data — and Mexico with 2,124 hours, it showed. Taiwan came in fourth, with 2,021 hours, it showed. South Korean workers clocked the third-most hours in Asia, with 1,908 hours, followed by Japan with 1,598 hours, it showed. However, compared with 2019, the survey found
The US 7th Fleet yesterday confirmed that a US Navy ship transited the Taiwan Strait on Thursday and Friday. “The Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer USS Dewey [DDG 105] conducted a Taiwan Strait transit in cooperation with Royal Canadian Navy [RCN] Halifax-class frigate, HMCS Winnipeg, October 14-15, 2021,” the US 7th Fleet said in a statement. “Dewey’s and Winnipeg’s transit through the Taiwan Strait demonstrates the commitment of the United States and our allies and partners to a free and open Indo-Pacific. Cooperation like this represents the centerpiece of our approach to a secure and prosperous region,” it added. The transit marked the
‘COUNTERPRODUCTIVE’: The German, French and Singaporean missions said that Taiwan’s COVID-19 restrictions are hindering local projects and business operations Several foreign missions in Taiwan have urged the government to ease its strict COVID-19 border controls, which they say are hurting in-person exchanges and business operations. The missions made the appeal in response to media inquiries on how the border controls have affected their respective countries’ exchanges with Taiwan, amid growing concerns voiced privately by Taiwan-based foreign offices and businesses regarding the restrictions. Taiwan has maintained strict entry requirements since March last year, generally prohibiting most arrivals except for citizens and foreign residents, while it has required those who enter the country to undergo a stringent 14-day quarantine. Although the rules have been
RSS