Taiwan has and would continue to improve its combat capabilities and procure military equipment based on its own national defense requirements, high-ranking government officials said today.
The statements came in response to an article by Nikkei Asia that said US President Donald Trump might pressure Taiwan into buying more weapons to make up for the trade imbalance between the two nations.
Taiwan is a sovereign and independent country that has improved its combat capabilities based on its own national defense needs, not due to pressure from other countries, Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) said.
Photo: Lo Pei-de, Taipei Times
“If there is any [pressure], it is that we must strengthen ourselves to face the threat of China,” Cho said.
Taiwan would consider how to enhance the combat capabilities of its military based on its need for self-reliant national defense, he said.
It would also monitor the national financial situation while purchasing advanced military weaponry from other countries to upgrade its self-defense capabilities, he added.
There are two types of peace: one is when we are strong enough and the other is if we surrender, Cho said.
We choose to make Taiwan a stronger country, he said.
The US has never purposefully sold Taiwan weapons that were not for defensive operations, but both sides have discussed what equipment is practical, Minister of National Defense Wellington Koo (顧立雄) told reporters at the Legislative Yuan in Taipei.
The government is procuring weapons to maintain peace in the Taiwan Strait and to deter war through strength, which is a common interest with the US, Koo said.
The approach is to increase defense spending by 3 percent of GDP based on defensive needs and the nation’s fiscal capacity, he said.
Combat readiness preparations are not solely about procuring weapons, but also about operational and maintenance costs, Koo said.
The Ministry of National Defense also goes through various channels to purchase domestically produced equipment, he said.
Meanwhile, other senior military officials said that the troop strength of the nation's military was previously reviewed on a five-year basis.
However, in the past few years the military has procured new equipment, established new units and reinstated the one-year mandatory service requirement, which means greater flexibility regarding deployments are needed, the officials said.
Military strength reviews would be conducted annually through a “rolling assessment” approach, they said.
The military has maintained a force of 215,000 troops for the past 10 years and this would be increased based on the annual reviews, they said.
The number of officers has also been slightly increased from 292, but would be kept under 300, they added.
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