A Ministry of National Defense (MND) official said yesterday that young Taiwanese don't want to go to war with China and that many think Taiwan would be defeated in any conflict. Because of that, Taiwan should quickly strengthen its defenses and increase citizens' confidence.
"To get rid of defeatism, Taiwan should swiftly procure advanced weapons and display its ability to counter a military invasion by China," said MND vice minister Michael Tsai (蔡明憲) at a seminar on national security held yesterday by National Chengchi University's Institute of International Relations (IIR).
"The legislators should free themselves from partisan politics, and swiftly approve the three-item arms budget," he added.
Tsai was referring to the budget to purchase advanced Patriot missile batteries, diesel submarines and sub-hunting aircraft from the US, which has been blocked by the pan-blue opposition in the legislature.
Tsai said that according to a recent poll conducted by Chinese Culture University, more than 65 percent of male university students said they don't want to go to war with China.
Among those, 30.5 percent said they don't think Taiwan can survive a Chinese military invasion and 25.6 think they would be "victims" of a war.
Lee Deng-ker (李登科), Dean of the College of International Affairs at National Chengchi University, said that according to a publication Balance of Power, published by the International Institute of Strategic Studies in London in 2003, Taiwan's per capita defense spending was lower even than Europe's neutral states.
According to that publication, he said, Switzerland spent US$480 per capita in 2003, and Austria spent US$308.
Although Taiwan faces one of the most serious military threats in the world, the country spent only US$200 per capita on defense in the same year, he said.
Lin Cheng-yi (
He said that the US had declined to sell Taiwan submarines for at least 20 years, and it has also refused to sell Taiwan P3C sub-hunting aircraft for several years.
"Therefore the US agreement to sell these weapons to Taiwan should be seen as [part of the US'] strategic concerns in the Taiwan Strait and East Asia -- not, as some have claimed, just a deal to serve US business interests," he said.
Alexander Huang (黃介正), a former vice chairman of the Mainland Affairs Council and now the director of Graduate Institute of American Studies at Tamkang University, said Taiwan should not simply focus on its homeland in its defense planning.
Instead, Taiwan should take the security of the broader East Asian region into consideration.
He said that since Taiwan is located in the middle of the so-called "first island chain," -- a notional maritime defense line running south from Japan to the Philippines -- the country should play a significant role in anti-submarine defense and maintaining secure sea lanes in the region.
He said that Taiwan can strengthen its overall security by emphasizing its regional responsibility and increasing its military cooperation with Japan and the US.
WANG RELEASED: A police investigation showed that an organized crime group allegedly taught their clients how to pretend to be sick during medical exams Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) and 11 others were released on bail yesterday, after being questioned for allegedly dodging compulsory military service or forging documents to help others avoid serving. Wang, 33, was catapulted into stardom for his role in the coming-of-age film Our Times (我的少女時代). Lately, he has been focusing on developing his entertainment career in China. The New Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office last month began investigating an organized crime group that is allegedly helping men dodge compulsory military service using falsified documents. Police in New Taipei City Yonghe Precinct at the end of last month arrested the main suspect,
A cat named Mikan (蜜柑) has brought in revenue of more than NT$10 million (US$305,390) for the Kaohsiung MRT last year. Mikan, born on April 4, 2020, was a stray cat before being adopted by personnel of Kaohsiung MRT’s Ciaotou Sugar Refinery Station. Mikan was named after a Japanese term for mandarin orange due to his color and because he looks like an orange when curled up. He was named “station master” of Ciaotou Sugar Refinery Station in September 2020, and has since become famous. With Kaohsiung MRT’s branding, along with the release of a set of cultural and creative products, station master Mikan
Eleven people, including actor Darren Wang (王大陸), were taken into custody today for questioning regarding the evasion of compulsory military service and document forgery, the New Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said. Eight of the people, including Wang, are suspected of evading military service, while three are suspected of forging medical documents to assist them, the report said. They are all being questioned by police and would later be transferred to the prosecutors’ office for further investigation. Three men surnamed Lee (李), Chang (張) and Lin (林) are suspected of improperly assisting conscripts in changing their military classification from “stand-by
LITTORAL REGIMENTS: The US Marine Corps is transitioning to an ‘island hopping’ strategy to counterattack Beijing’s area denial strategy The US Marine Corps (USMC) has introduced new anti-drone systems to bolster air defense in the Pacific island chain amid growing Chinese military influence in the region, The Telegraph reported on Sunday. The new Marine Air Defense Integrated System (MADIS) Mk 1 is being developed to counter “the growing menace of unmanned aerial systems,” it cited the Marine Corps as saying. China has constructed a powerful defense mechanism in the Pacific Ocean west of the first island chain by deploying weapons such as rockets, submarines and anti-ship missiles — which is part of its anti-access/area denial (A2/AD) strategy against adversaries — the
RSS