The military should redefine its understanding of victory, which under the current circumstances is not so much winning battles, but preventing the enemy from occupying the nation, former chief of the general staff admiral Lee Hsi-ming (李喜明) said.
The former deputy minister of national defense made the remarks at a seminar hosted by the Academia Sinica’s Institute of Sociology in Taipei on Friday.
The event was titled: “Challenges for the Taiwanese military’s relationship with society under the overall defense concept.”
Photo: Peter Lo, Taipei Times
Lee said that last month’s events in Afghanistan had proven that the US had been unable to control the country, despite having won every major battle of the 20-year war.
In light of the US’ defeat in Afghanistan, the military should understand that victory means preventing the enemy from imposing its political will on the nation, he said.
Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) has repeatedly said that the so-called “reunification” with Taiwan is crucial to his ambition of a glorious national revival, he added.
This means that Xi might start a cross-strait war in reaction to internal pressure or as a means to “secure his place in history,” Lee said.
Taiwan should ready itself to counter a Chinese aggression and boost its military strength to deter China from attacking, Lee said.
Should China make an attempt to force unification, Taiwan needs a military that is strong enough to fight off the attack, he said.
However, as China’s annual military spending is about US$200 billion — compared with Taiwan’s NT$12 billion (US$432.7 million) — and its naval forces have overtaken the US in strength, deterring or defending against an attack might not be possible, he said.
Therefore, the government’s focus on acquiring advanced jets and warships is unwise, he said.
Foreign defense experts assume that a Chinese attack with standoff missiles would destroy most of the military’s aircraft and ships, or render the nation’s military bases inoperable, he said.
Taiwan should instead focus on boosting its reserve units and harness the power of its society, he said.
The goal should be resisting occupation, as outlined in the nation’s defense concepts, he said.
Should Taiwan fail to implement a viable civil defense program, it would have no deterrence against communist aggression, he said.
The government must implement a civil defense strategy that makes full use of civilian assets, such as firefighters and the coast guard personnel, he added.
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