The military yesterday began three days of drills as concerns rose over potential cuts to the defense budget due to legislative wrangling.
The drills began in the north with tank maneuvering at a base in Hsinchu County featuring outmoded CM-11 tanks, which are gradually being replaced by newly purchased M1A2T Abrams from the US.
The replacement marks a huge upgrade despite some complaints over the weight of the new vehicles and their likely effectiveness at preventing a possible Chinese landing.
Photo: CNA
Soldiers arrived on armored personnel carriers, while Apache and Sikorsky S-70 helicopters whirled overhead, providing reconnaissance and covering fire.
With the equipment the military currently operates, a communication officer on the ground can coordinate airborne attacks, Army Captain Chuang Yuan-cheng (莊沅澂) said of the 542 Armored Brigade in Hsinchu County.
Today, the army is to show off its Patriot III anti-missile system aimed at countering one of China’s most potent weapons. Tomorrow, anti-submarine exercises are to be held off the Port of Kaohsiung, considered China’s best conduit for resupplying its troops should it establish a beachhead in the heavily defended region.
Photo: I-Hwa Cheng, AFP
The annual drills are held in the run-up to the Lunar New Year holiday to reassure the population of the military’s ability to meet China’s threats and to boost recruitment.
Taiwan has a backlog of orders from the US for about US$20 billion in weapons systems, while it upgrades its F-16 jets and develops its own submarines. It has also extended compulsory military service to one year.
However, the government has warned that new legal amendments being considered could force a 28 percent cut in the defense budget by altering the way funds are distributed between the central and local governments.
Photo: CNA
That in turn could reduce the willingness of the US and its allies such as Japan and the Philippines to assist Taiwan in the event of an armed clash with China, National Security Council Secretary-General Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) told legislators last month.
The legislation is being pushed by the main opposition Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), which has joined with the Taiwan People’s Party to oppose the ruling Democratic Progressive Party’s legislative agenda.
Taiwan annually spends about 2.4 percent of its GDP, or about US$20 billion, on the military.
Photo: CNA
China has responded furiously to all US arms sales to Taiwan, saying that unification is inevitable and warning that Washington is “playing with fire.”
However, neither military intimidation, economic coercion nor appeals to their common Chinese ancestry seem to be working on Taiwanese, the vast majority of whom favor the current status of de facto independence.
Eight Chinese naval vessels and 24 military aircraft were detected crossing the median line of the Taiwan Strait between 6am yesterday and 6am today, the Ministry of National Defense said this morning. The aircraft entered Taiwan’s northern, central, southwestern and eastern air defense identification zones, the ministry said. The armed forces responded with mission aircraft, naval vessels and shore-based missile systems to closely monitor the situation, it added. Eight naval vessels, one official ship and 36 aircraft sorties were spotted in total, the ministry said.
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