A prominent US China expert last week called on Taiwan to increase military spending to at least match the US as a percentage of GDP, saying that it would be “unrealistic” to reach 10 percent.
Oriana Skylar Mastro, a fellow at Stanford University's Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies, made the remarks during a US Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on Wednesday last week titled “Shared Threats: Indo-Pacific Alliances and Burden Sharing in Today’s Geopolitical Environment.”
Mastro called Taiwan a unique situation compared with other US allies and partners in the Asia-Pacific region, as it is the only one facing the acute threat of war with China.
Photo: AFP
“If Taiwan expects the US to help in a conflict, thereby risking major war with China, Taiwan does need to contribute more to deterring the war, and prevailing if that proves necessary,” she said.
The imbalance of power between Taiwan and China means that the former’s ability to “hold off” long enough for US forces to arrive is “the heart of deterrence,” Mastro said.
"Taipei will never be able to defend itself completely without US assistance," she added.
The strategy should be for Taiwan to withstand 30 days of an invasion while US forces arrive in the region, but the US should also take steps to convince Beijing that quick military action has no way of succeeding, she said.
"There is no scenario in which Taiwan wins a war against China without direct US military intervention," she added.
Within the next three to four years, the Chinese People’s Liberation Army is to tell Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) it is able to take Taiwan by force, Mastro said.
While Taiwan spending 10 percent of its GDP on military spending is likely unrealistic, especially given total government spending only stands at 13.7 percent, it must still increase military funding, she said.
“As a symbolic gesture, Taiwan should spend at least the same amount as the United States on defense — currently 3.4 percent of GDP,” Mastro said.
The money that Taiwan does spend on defense should go to buying “the right weapons,” focused on asymmetric warfare instead of traditional high-cost platforms such as submarines and F-35 jets, she said.
“Taiwan should persist in acquiring large quantities of anti-air, anti-armor and anti-ship missiles, weapons that provide more value in Taiwan’s defense scenario,” she said.
There is a “political need for Taipei to show seriousness about its defense if American lives are going to be sacrificed for its defense,” Mastro added.
Additional reporting by CNA
SHIPS, TRAINS AND AUTOMOBILES: The ministry has announced changes to varied transportation industries taking effect soon, with a number of effects for passengers Beginning next month, the post office is canceling signature upon delivery and written inquiry services for international registered small packets in accordance with the new policy of the Universal Postal Union, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications said yesterday. The new policy does not apply to packets that are to be delivered to China, the ministry said. Senders of international registered small packets would receive a NT$10 rebate on postage if the packets are sent from Jan. 1 to March 31, it added. The ministry said that three other policies are also scheduled to take effect next month. International cruise ship operators
HORROR STORIES: One victim recounted not realizing they had been stabbed and seeing people bleeding, while another recalled breaking down in tears after fleeing A man on Friday died after he tried to fight the knife-wielding suspect who went on a stabbing spree near two of Taipei’s busiest metro stations, Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) said. The 57-year-old man, identified by his family name, Yu (余), encountered the suspect at Exit M7 of Taipei Main Station and immediately tried to stop him, but was fatally wounded and later died, Chiang said, calling the incident “heartbreaking.” Yu’s family would receive at least NT$5 million (US$158,584) in compensation through the Taipei Rapid Transit Corp’s (TRTC) insurance coverage, he said after convening an emergency security response meeting yesterday morning. National
PLANNED: The suspect visited the crime scene before the killings, seeking information on how to access the roof, and had extensively researched a 2014 stabbing incident The suspect in a stabbing attack that killed three people and injured 11 in Taipei on Friday had planned the assault and set fires at other locations earlier in the day, law enforcement officials said yesterday. National Police Agency (NPA) Director-General Chang Jung-hsin (張榮興) said the suspect, a 27-year-old man named Chang Wen (張文), began the attacks at 3:40pm, first setting off smoke bombs on a road, damaging cars and motorbikes. Earlier, Chang Wen set fire to a rental room where he was staying on Gongyuan Road in Zhongzheng District (中正), Chang Jung-hsin said. The suspect later threw smoke grenades near two exits
The Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency yesterday launched a gift box to market honey “certified by a Formosan black bear” in appreciation of a beekeeper’s amicable interaction with a honey-thieving bear. Beekeeper Chih Ming-chen (池明鎮) in January inspected his bee farm in Hualien County’s Jhuosi Township (卓溪) and found that more than 20 beehives had been destroyed and many hives were eaten, with bear droppings and paw prints near the destroyed hives, the agency said. Chih returned to the farm to move the remaining beehives away that evening when he encountered a Formosan black bear only 20m away, the agency said. The bear
RSS