The military yesterday began three days of drills as concerns rose over potential cuts to the defense budget due to legislative wrangling.
The drills began in the north with tank maneuvering at a base in Hsinchu County featuring outmoded CM-11 tanks, which are gradually being replaced by newly purchased M1A2T Abrams from the US.
The replacement marks a huge upgrade despite some complaints over the weight of the new vehicles and their likely effectiveness at preventing a possible Chinese landing.
Photo: CNA
Soldiers arrived on armored personnel carriers, while Apache and Sikorsky S-70 helicopters whirled overhead, providing reconnaissance and covering fire.
With the equipment the military currently operates, a communication officer on the ground can coordinate airborne attacks, Army Captain Chuang Yuan-cheng (莊沅澂) said of the 542 Armored Brigade in Hsinchu County.
Today, the army is to show off its Patriot III anti-missile system aimed at countering one of China’s most potent weapons. Tomorrow, anti-submarine exercises are to be held off the Port of Kaohsiung, considered China’s best conduit for resupplying its troops should it establish a beachhead in the heavily defended region.
Photo: I-Hwa Cheng, AFP
The annual drills are held in the run-up to the Lunar New Year holiday to reassure the population of the military’s ability to meet China’s threats and to boost recruitment.
Taiwan has a backlog of orders from the US for about US$20 billion in weapons systems, while it upgrades its F-16 jets and develops its own submarines. It has also extended compulsory military service to one year.
However, the government has warned that new legal amendments being considered could force a 28 percent cut in the defense budget by altering the way funds are distributed between the central and local governments.
Photo: CNA
That in turn could reduce the willingness of the US and its allies such as Japan and the Philippines to assist Taiwan in the event of an armed clash with China, National Security Council Secretary-General Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) told legislators last month.
The legislation is being pushed by the main opposition Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), which has joined with the Taiwan People’s Party to oppose the ruling Democratic Progressive Party’s legislative agenda.
Taiwan annually spends about 2.4 percent of its GDP, or about US$20 billion, on the military.
Photo: CNA
China has responded furiously to all US arms sales to Taiwan, saying that unification is inevitable and warning that Washington is “playing with fire.”
However, neither military intimidation, economic coercion nor appeals to their common Chinese ancestry seem to be working on Taiwanese, the vast majority of whom favor the current status of de facto independence.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫), spokeswoman Yang Chih-yu (楊智伃) and Legislator Hsieh Lung-chieh (謝龍介) would be summoned by police for questioning for leading an illegal assembly on Thursday evening last week, Minister of the Interior Liu Shyh-fang (劉世芳) said today. The three KMT officials led an assembly outside the Taipei City Prosecutors’ Office, a restricted area where public assembly is not allowed, protesting the questioning of several KMT staff and searches of KMT headquarters and offices in a recall petition forgery case. Chu, Yang and Hsieh are all suspected of contravening the Assembly and Parade Act (集會遊行法) by holding
PRAISE: Japanese visitor Takashi Kubota said the Taiwanese temple architecture images showcased in the AI Art Gallery were the most impressive displays he saw Taiwan does not have an official pavilion at the World Expo in Osaka, Japan, because of its diplomatic predicament, but the government-backed Tech World pavilion is drawing interest with its unique recreations of works by Taiwanese artists. The pavilion features an artificial intelligence (AI)-based art gallery showcasing works of famous Taiwanese artists from the Japanese colonial period using innovative technologies. Among its main simulated displays are Eastern gouache paintings by Chen Chin (陳進), Lin Yu-shan (林玉山) and Kuo Hsueh-hu (郭雪湖), who were the three young Taiwanese painters selected for the East Asian Painting exhibition in 1927. Gouache is a water-based
Taiwan would welcome the return of Honduras as a diplomatic ally if its next president decides to make such a move, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said yesterday. “Of course, we would welcome Honduras if they want to restore diplomatic ties with Taiwan after their elections,” Lin said at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, when asked to comment on statements made by two of the three Honduran presidential candidates during the presidential campaign in the Central American country. Taiwan is paying close attention to the region as a whole in the wake of a
OFF-TARGET: More than 30,000 participants were expected to take part in the Games next month, but only 6,550 foreign and 19,400 Taiwanese athletes have registered Taipei city councilors yesterday blasted the organizers of next month’s World Masters Games over sudden timetable and venue changes, which they said have caused thousands of participants to back out of the international sporting event, among other organizational issues. They also cited visa delays and political interference by China as reasons many foreign athletes are requesting refunds for the event, to be held from May 17 to 30. Jointly organized by the Taipei and New Taipei City governments, the games have been rocked by numerous controversies since preparations began in 2020. Taipei City Councilor Lin Yen-feng (林延鳳) said yesterday that new measures by
RSS