China is aiming for domination of the Western Pacific, and preparing for the annexation of Taiwan, a military analyst in Taipei said yesterday, after China announced a military budget of 1.56 trillion yuan (US$225.83 billion) for this year.
The budget, announced yesterday at the 14th National People’s Congress in Beijing, represents a 7.2 percent increase from last year, and is 11 times that of Taiwan’s annual defense budget of NT$586.3 billion (US$19.14 billion).
Taiwan’s defense budget this year accounts for 2.4 percent of its GDP, and the focus of defense spending is on the development of domestically produced aircraft and naval vessels, the improvement of existing equipment, the replenishment of ammunition, the improvement of reserve forces, and the development of asymmetric combat capabilities, the Ministry of National Defense said.
Photo: AFP
The ministry is also focused on improving its drone fleet, which is aimed at managing incursions into Taiwan’s airspace by Chinese drones and other military aircraft, it said.
Institute of National Defense and Security Research director Su Tzu-yun (蘇紫雲) yesterday said that the government has been working to narrow the defense spending gap, and those efforts are reflected in this year’s budget.
China last year budgeted 16 times more for military spending than Taiwan, compared with 11 times more this year.
“However, Taiwan does not need to engage in an endless military spending race with China. What is important is the acceleration of the development of asymmetric combat capabilities, including precision munitions,” Su said.
“Taiwan can develop precise anti-ship and anti-aircraft missiles, which is a cost-effective way of coping with China’s large number of vessels and aircraft,” he said.
Whereas an air force jet costs China tens of millions of dollars, and a frigate costs an average of US$1 billion, Taiwan can produce precise anti-aircraft and anti-ship missiles for a per-unit cost of US$1 million, Su said.
“In asymmetric warfare, Taiwan can defend itself using fewer resources,” he said.
China’s plans for Taiwan are part of greater ambitions to break through the first island chain and become a major sea power that dominates the Western Pacific, which would severely affect the global economy and world security, he said.
National Taiwan University professor Chen Shih-min (陳世民) said the government should prioritize bolstering Taiwan’s ability to “deter war before war breaks out.”
“We must strive to make Beijing realize that if it attacks Taiwan, it will suffer unbearable losses and not dare start war lightly,” he said.
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