President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) administration has failed to realize its promise to meaningfully increase military spending, academics affiliated with the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) National Policy Foundation think tank said yesterday, criticizing the feasibility of the government’s submarine program and continued recruitment difficulties.
“They only have empty words and are planning to ‘fight tigers with their bare hands,’” the foundation’s National Security Division convener Lin Yu-fang (林郁方) said, criticizing the administration for cutting NT$10.3 billion (US$342 million) from the military investment budget this year, bringing it to NT$88 billion.
While flagship programs such as developing an indigenous submarine deserve support, there are serious concerns about their feasibility, he said.
“The government should avoid throwing away money,” he said, adding that major expenditures on the submarine program should be avoided unless US support is guaranteed.
A total of NT$2.9 billion is to be budgeted through December 2020 for the design of the vessels, according a ministry report to the Legislative Yuan, with ministry officials stating that assistance and technologies from the US would be required.
KMT Legislator Ma Wen-chun (馬文君) criticized the contracting of CSBC Corp, Taiwan to build the submarines despite failing to provide proof of relationships with international firms to acquire the necessary parts.
“There are really only two results — either money is going to be washed away, or we will be forced to choose from a pile of rubbish,” she said. “If you cannot get the key technologies, even if you manage to design it successfully, you could still run into a situation where people will not sell you the parts you need, forcing you to accept second-hand or bad pieces.”
“The navy is smart in that they have only budgeted funds for an evaluation of the submarine program,” said foundation consultant Herman Shuai (帥化民), a former army lieutenant general and KMT legislator, when questioned about the value of the program given China’s overwhelmingly superior destroyer and submarine fleets.
“The whole structure of the army is rotten, including low morale and a serious lack of soldiers and officers — why are they so focused on spending money on new weapons?” he asked.
Recruitment for volunteer military service is 21 percent lower than budgeted targets, Lin said, adding that difficulties in recruiting has forced cuts in targeted areas.
“The army is starting to look like a besieged city — many are fleeing and only a few people are entering,” he said, adding that only 1,158 new military officers were named last year, while 2,404 retired.
Recruitment difficulties also plagued the application of a fully voluntary military service under the previous KMT administration, with Lin citing “poor military discipline” when asked for a connection with DPP policies.
ANOTHER EMERGES: The CWA yesterday said this year’s fourth storm of the typhoon season had formed in the South China Sea, but was not expected to affect Taiwan Tropical Storm Gaemi has intensified slightly as it heads toward Taiwan, where it is expected to affect the country in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. As of 8am yesterday, the 120km-radius storm was 800km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost tip, moving at 9kph northwest, the agency said. A sea warning for Gaemi could be issued tonight at the earliest, it said, adding that the storm is projected to be closest to Taiwan on Wednesday or Thursday. Gaemi’s potential effect on Taiwan remains unclear, as that would depend on its direction, radius and intensity, forecasters said. Former Weather Forecast
As COVID-19 cases in Japan have been increasing for 10 consecutive weeks, people should get vaccinated before visiting the nation, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said. The centers reported 773 hospitalizations and 124 deaths related to COVID-19 in Taiwan last week. CDC Epidemic Intelligence Center Director Guo Hung-wei (郭宏偉) on Tuesday said the number of weekly COVID-19 cases reported in Japan has been increasing since mid-May and surpassed 55,000 cases from July 8 to July 14. The average number of COVID-19 patients at Japan’s healthcare facilities that week was also 1.39 times that of the week before and KP.3 is the dominant
The Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) working group for Taiwan-related policies is likely to be upgraded to a committee-level body, a report commissioned by the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said. As Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) is increasingly likely to upgrade the CCP’s Central Leading Group for Taiwan Affairs, Taiwanese authorities should prepare by researching Xi and the CCP, the report said. At the third plenary session of the 20th Central Committee of the CCP, which ended on Thursday last week, the party set a target of 2029 for the completion of some tasks, meaning that Xi is likely preparing to
US-CHINA TRADE DISPUTE: Despite Beijing’s offer of preferential treatment, the lure of China has dimmed as Taiwanese and international investors move out Japan and the US have become the favored destinations for Taiwanese graduates as China’s attraction has waned over the years, the Ministry of Labor said. According to the ministry’s latest income and employment advisory published this month, 3,215 Taiwanese university graduates from the class of 2020 went to Japan, surpassing for the first time the 2,881 graduates who went to China. A total of 2,300 graduates from the class of 2021 went to the US, compared with the 2,262 who went to China, the document showed. The trend continued for the class of 2023, of whom 1,460 went to Japan, 1,334 went to