Eighty-five percent of Taiwanese back the government’s autonomous development of national defense equipment, but have become less inclined to support its purchase of US arms packages due to delivery delays, an Institute for National Defense and Security Research poll showed.
Lee Kuan-cheng (李冠成), an assistant researcher at the institute’s Division of Chinese Politics, Military and Warfighting Concepts, said that 58 percent of respondents in March agreed that “Taiwan should continue purchasing US military equipment and arms to strengthen its defensive capabilities,” down from 65 percent a year earlier.
A delay in the delivery of the M136 Volcano automated mine-laying system, and false news that surrounded the sale of the system, might have led to the drop in support, Lee said.
Photo: Taipei Times file
The overwhelming public support for the government’s autonomous development of national defense equipment showed that more Taiwanese are beginning to understand that to prevent Taiwan’s defense from being affected by international situations, it must retain the ability to research and develop its own weapons systems and equipment, he said.
The public are becoming increasingly aware of the threat posed by China, as there was an increase in the number of respondents who agreed that national defense expenditure should grow, the poll report said.
The delivery of locally manufactured surface ships, the T-5 Brave Eagle trainer jet and the expected delivery of the indigenous submarine program’s prototype in September have increased public support for the government’s indigenous defense programs, it said.
Solid public support for such programs would lay the foundation for continued investment in and the growth of national defense industries, the report said.
The institute commissioned the National Chengchi University’s Election Study Center to conduct the poll via telephone from March 23 to 29.
The poll primarily targeted individuals aged 18 or older, and received 1,535 valid responses with a margin of error of 2.5 percentage points.
Polled respondents lived on Taiwan proper, with the nation’s outlying islands excluded.
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