Taiwan’s military capabilities are inferior to those of China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) in almost all regards, the Ministry of National Defense said in a report yesterday.
The legislature requested the report after the military sought a special budget to increase combat capabilities across the armed forces.
The PLA, in general, has superior firepower among its ground forces, better naval surface coverage and better airborne electronic warfare capabilities, the report said.
Photo: Ann Wang, Reuters
The advantage in terms of air control capability leans toward the PLA Air Force, while the PLA Navy’s submarine forces far outstrip that of Taiwan’s navy, it said.
The PLA has better ship and plane-building capabilities, and manufactures more of its own equipment and arms, the report said.
The Chinese navy is equipped with China’s latest version of its Russian-built radars, which can detect objects up to 180km away, while the range of China’s ship-borne missiles have increased to 250km from 130km, the report said.
China’s J-20 jets have a greater missile range of 120km, compared to the 112km range of such ordinances in Taiwan, it said.
The ministry’s counter to the Chinese military threat is to create a force with “immediate combat capability,” meaning continued deployment of stratified missile defense systems, it said.
This would increase Taiwan’s overall anti-air and anti-surface capabilities, allowing rapid deployment of combat-ready troops and ramping up overall combat capabilities, the ministry said.
Security collaborations with the US are based on the US’ Taiwan Relations and Taiwan Assurance acts, and the “six assurances,” the report said.
Together, Taiwan and the US jointly maintain the security of the Taiwan Strait, and the peace and stability of the region, it said, adding that while Taiwan has no official diplomatic ties with Japan, Tokyo has reiterated the importance of peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait.
The ministry would continue to expand Taiwan-Japan defense collaborations based on the principle of active participation, improving ties and upholding national defense, it said.
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