The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday China's defense budget now triples Taiwan's and warned of cross-strait military conflicts as lawmakers left for a trip to the US that could determine the fate of a massive arms deal.
Council Vice Chairman Chiu Tai-san (邱太三), who just wrapped up a visit to Washington to discuss the NT$610.8 billion (US$18.25 billion) budget the Cabinet has earmarked for weapons purchases from the US, said China's military build-up has forced Taiwan to strengthen its defense capability.
A group of lawmakers led by Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平) landed in Hawaii on Wednesday morning and were scheduled to listen to a briefing at a military base under the authority of the US Pacific Command.
The legislative group, which will be meeting with officials of the National Security Council, the State Department and the Department of Defense to discuss the arms sales, will be shown a fleet of anti-submarine aircraft and the Patriot PAC-III anti-missile system.
Addressing concerns the weapons purchase may trigger an arms race with China and that cross-strait tensions may disrupt stability in the Asia-Pacific region, Chiu said Taiwan must strengthen its military if it is to survive.
"In 1993, Taiwan's defense budget was still larger than China's. In 2002, however, China's defense budget grew to three times Taiwan's. Global defense experts say China's defense budget could be much bigger than the official number and that China has hidden defense expenditures in other budgets," Chiu said.
China's recent large-scale military drills were obviously meant to intimidate Taiwan, he added.
"China bought mainly offensive weapons while Taiwan purchased mostly defensive weapons," he said.
Aware of the possible consequences of an arms race, Chiu said Taiwan is seeking negotiations with China to build trust on military matters.
The Ministry of Defense is still working on details of the mechanism, which would include informing the other side of plans for military drills, Chiu said.
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