It is “very important” for Taiwan to increase its defense spending, a key US Congressional staff member told a Heritage Foundation discussion on Thursday.
US Senate Armed Services Committee staff member Eric Sayers said that committee chairman US Senator John McCain stressed the issue in talks with President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) in Taipei earlier this month.
He said that McCain reassured Tsai about the US’ commitment to Taiwan’s security and helping Taiwan enter the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) free-trade agreement.
“We want to continually raise the importance of Taipei increasing its defense spending,” Sayers told the “View from Capitol Hill” discussion organized by Heritage director of Asian Studies Walter Lohman.
Sayers said that Taiwan’s spending of about 2.1 percent of GDP or about US$11 billion per year simply did not match China’s growth rate.
He said that while no one expected Taiwan to match China’s military spending, it was vital that Taipei finds a way to increase its defense budget.
Sayers suggested that Taiwan might have to move away from buying expensive fighter planes and move toward a larger arsenal of ground-to-air missiles.
He praised the Taiwanese navy for developing its own indigenous fast attack ships, catamarans and cruise missiles.
“The cross-strait balance is a difficult balance, but it is not insurmountable if the right choices are made in investing, divesting and training,” Sayers said.
He said that weapons training and advice was as important as weapons sales.
“We can sell all the shiny capabilities we want, but it is very important that the US trains Taiwan at a very high level,” Sayers said.
Asked if the administration of US President Barack Obama was likely to send another Taiwan arms package to US Congress this year, Sayers said that there is always “talk” of a package and that discussions continued, but added that it remained uncertain.
Regarding Taiwan’s plan to build its own indigenous submarine fleet, Sayers said Taipei should be careful not to look at the issue solely as a weapons platform, but to think of it as an “anti-surface” mission, preventing attack ships from crossing the Taiwan Strait.
“Taiwan needs to think outside the box on how to do that,” he said.
Sayers said there were much cheaper options than submarines, such as naval mines.
Lohman asked if the US should rethink the way it dealt with arms sales to Taiwan and increase coordination with Taiwanese.
“It is not just about the sales, it is about engagement and bilateral coordination,” Sayers said.
He said the US had a “pretty good sense” of what Taiwan needed.
Sayers said there are about 2,600 “engagements” or meetings of various sizes and importance each year between Taiwan and the US to discuss defense issues.
CHANGING LANDSCAPE: Many of the part-time programs for educators were no longer needed, as many teachers obtain a graduate degree before joining the workforce, experts said Taiwanese universities this year canceled 86 programs, Ministry of Education data showed, with educators attributing the closures to the nation’s low birthrate as well as shifting trends. Fifty-three of the shuttered programs were part-time postgraduate degree programs, about 62 percent of the total, the most in the past five years, the data showed. National Taiwan Normal University (NTNU) discontinued the most part-time master’s programs, at 16: chemistry, life science, earth science, physics, fine arts, music, special education, health promotion and health education, educational psychology and counseling, education, design, Chinese as a second language, library and information sciences, mechatronics engineering, history, physical education
The Chinese military has boosted its capability to fight at a high tempo using the element of surprise and new technology, the Ministry of National Defense said in the Quadrennial Defense Review (QDR) published on Monday last week. The ministry highlighted Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) developments showing significant changes in Beijing’s strategy for war on Taiwan. The PLA has made significant headway in building capabilities for all-weather, multi-domain intelligence, surveillance, operational control and a joint air-sea blockade against Taiwan’s lines of communication, it said. The PLA has also improved its capabilities in direct amphibious assault operations aimed at seizing strategically important beaches,
‘MALIGN PURPOSE’: Governments around the world conduct espionage operations, but China’s is different, as its ultimate goal is annexation, a think tank head said Taiwan is facing a growing existential threat from its own people spying for China, experts said, as the government seeks to toughen measures to stop Beijing’s infiltration efforts and deter Taiwanese turncoats. While Beijing and Taipei have been spying on each other for years, experts said that espionage posed a bigger threat to Taiwan due to the risk of a Chinese attack. Taiwan’s intelligence agency said China used “diverse channels and tactics” to infiltrate the nation’s military, government agencies and pro-China organizations. The main targets were retired and active members of the military, persuaded by money, blackmail or pro-China ideology to steal
DEADLOCK: As the commission is unable to forum a quorum to review license renewal applications, the channel operators are not at fault and can air past their license date The National Communications Commission (NCC) yesterday said that the Public Television Service (PTS) and 36 other television and radio broadcasters could continue airing, despite the commission’s inability to meet a quorum to review their license renewal applications. The licenses of PTS and the other channels are set to expire between this month and June. The National Communications Commission Organization Act (國家通訊傳播委員會組織法) stipulates that the commission must meet the mandated quorum of four to hold a valid meeting. The seven-member commission currently has only three commissioners. “We have informed the channel operators of the progress we have made in reviewing their license renewal applications, and
RSS