Preparing a contingency plan to prevent formal Taiwanese independence remains a priority for China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA), and Taiwan needs to step up its military investments to defend itself against China’s increasing military presence, despite a supposed improvement in cross-strait relations after the historic meeting between President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) and Chinese president Xi Jinping (習近平) in November last year, the US Department of Defense said yesterday.
In its annual report on military and security developments involving the People’s Republic of China (PRC), released yesterday, the department cited China’s defense white paper for last year, in which China warned against “Taiwanese separatist independence forces.”
According to the report, China said that should the clamor for Taiwanese independence intensify, it would call upon the PLA to compel Taiwan to abandon moves toward independence or unify Taiwan with China by force, while simultaneously delaying, deterring or denying any third-party intervention on Taiwan’s behalf.
Photo: Reuters
Although contingencies in the East China and South China seas and on the Korean Peninsula are increasingly important to China, “the PRC continues to focus on preparing for potential conflict in the Taiwan Strait,” the report said.
It also mentioned the potential effect president-elect Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) reluctance to acknowledge the so-called “1992 consensus” could have on maintaining peace across the Taiwan Strait.
“Following Taiwan’s January 2016 presidential and legislative elections, China has stressed that denying the ‘1992 consensus’ would make peace and development impossible,” the report said.
“President Tsai Ing-wen of the Democratic Progressive Party has pledged to maintain the ‘status quo’ in cross-strait relations, but has not endorsed Beijing’s interpretation of the ‘1992 consensus.’ Her position differs with the approach of the outgoing Kuomintang Party [Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT)],” it said.
The “1992 consensus,” is a term former Mainland Affairs Council chairman Su Chi (蘇起) admitted making up in 2000 that refers to a tacit understanding between the KMT and China that both sides of the Taiwan Strait acknowledge there is only “one China,” with each side having its own interpretation of what “China” means.
In defense budgets planned last year by the governments on both sides of the Strait, China allocated US$144 billion, while Taiwan’s budget was US$9.9 billion, the report said.
“China’s officially-disclosed military budget grew at an average of 9.8 percent per year in inflation-adjusted terms from 2006 through 2015, and Chinese leaders seem committed to sustaining defense spending growth for the foreseeable future, even as China’s economic growth decelerates,” it said.
Despite positive developments last year, such as the meeting between Ma and Xi — the first meeting between the heads of state on both sides of the Strait since 1946 — there have been no signs that China’s military posture toward Taiwan has changed significantly, it said.
At a news conference in Washington held on the same day, US Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for East Asia Abraham Denmark urged Taiwan to increase its defense budget.
“We have encouraged Taiwan to continue to increase its defense spending, and to invest in asymmetric and innovative capabilities and concepts,” Denmark said. “Because of the obvious and unavoidable imbalance in the sheer size of the two sides ... we believe that Taiwan does need to increase its spending, but also needs to make investments in asymmetric capabilities that would account for that natural disparity in size.”
SECURITY: As China is ‘reshaping’ Hong Kong’s population, Taiwan must raise the eligibility threshold for applications from Hong Kongers, Chiu Chui-cheng said When Hong Kong and Macau citizens apply for residency in Taiwan, it would be under a new category that includes a “national security observation period,” Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) said yesterday. President William Lai (賴清德) on March 13 announced 17 strategies to counter China’s aggression toward Taiwan, including incorporating national security considerations into the review process for residency applications from Hong Kong and Macau citizens. The situation in Hong Kong is constantly changing, Chiu said to media yesterday on the sidelines of the Taipei Technology Run hosted by the Taipei Neihu Technology Park Development Association. With
CARROT AND STICK: While unrelenting in its military threats, China attracted nearly 40,000 Taiwanese to over 400 business events last year Nearly 40,000 Taiwanese last year joined industry events in China, such as conferences and trade fairs, supported by the Chinese government, a study showed yesterday, as Beijing ramps up a charm offensive toward Taipei alongside military pressure. China has long taken a carrot-and-stick approach to Taiwan, threatening it with the prospect of military action while reaching out to those it believes are amenable to Beijing’s point of view. Taiwanese security officials are wary of what they see as Beijing’s influence campaigns to sway public opinion after Taipei and Beijing gradually resumed travel links halted by the COVID-19 pandemic, but the scale of
A US Marine Corps regiment equipped with Naval Strike Missiles (NSM) is set to participate in the upcoming Balikatan 25 exercise in the Luzon Strait, marking the system’s first-ever deployment in the Philippines. US and Philippine officials have separately confirmed that the Navy Marine Expeditionary Ship Interdiction System (NMESIS) — the mobile launch platform for the Naval Strike Missile — would take part in the joint exercise. The missiles are being deployed to “a strategic first island chain chokepoint” in the waters between Taiwan proper and the Philippines, US-based Naval News reported. “The Luzon Strait and Bashi Channel represent a critical access
Pope Francis is be laid to rest on Saturday after lying in state for three days in St Peter’s Basilica, where the faithful are expected to flock to pay their respects to history’s first Latin American pontiff. The cardinals met yesterday in the Vatican’s synod hall to chart the next steps before a conclave begins to choose Francis’ successor, as condolences poured in from around the world. According to current norms, the conclave must begin between May 5 and 10. The cardinals set the funeral for Saturday at 10am in St Peter’s Square, to be celebrated by the dean of the College
RSS