Taipei, Oct. 31 (CNA) The threat from mainland China has increased since President Lee Teng-hui redefined cross-strait relations in July, the Ministry of National Defense (MND) said in a report.
The report, which analyzes recent mainland troop movements and military exercises and their effect on Taiwan's security in the wake of President Lee's "state-to-state" statement on July 9, is scheduled to be delivered to the Legislative Yuan on Monday.
The report said that the MND believes that Beijing's recent defense budget increase , its purchase and production of advanced Sukhoi-27 and Sukhoi-30 fighter jets, K-class submarines and battle ships, and the beefing up of its artillery forces have all led to increased pressure on Taiwan.
The report noted that between July 13 and the end of September, mainland fighter jets have been frequently conducting exercises, adding that its planes twice crossed the mid-line in the Taiwan strait on July 25 and July 30.
The MND said that the planes were on patrol and reconnaissance missions, adding that they crossed over the mid-line of the strait in an attempt to put pressure on Taiwan, though there have been no drastic increases in the size of its air force.
With respect to the navy, the report said vessels from the mainland's East China Sea Fleet conducted anti-submarine and strategic exercises 90 nautical miles northeast off the coast of Keelung between Aug. 4 and Aug. 7.
Between Sept. 1 and Sept. 5, more than 30 vessels, in conjunction with the Nanking military region also conducted amphibious landing exercises off Zhejiang province in southeastern China. Between Aug. 10 and Aug. 12, vessels from its Nanhai Fleet conducted live missile firing exercises off the coast of Guangdong province, only some 500 nautical miles from Kaohsiung in southern Taiwan.
The report said mainland ground forces had also heightened combat readiness between July 13 and Sept. 25, though there were no unusual troop movements.
The Nanjing and Guangdong military regions have also conducted amphibious landing exercises in Zhejiang and Guangdong provinces.
Beijing has also flexed its military muscle by test firing its long-range strategic Dongfeng missiles on Aug. 2 so as to establish its status as a military power in the Asia and Pacific region and to intimidate Taiwan, according to the report.
In addition to military intimidation, the report said Beijing has actively incited anti-Lee fever within its military, and added that Taiwan should guard against Beijing's attempts to incite antagonism toward Taiwan.
Faced with this verbal and military intimidation, the MND urged Taiwan to heighten its guard so that Beijing doesn't dare begin a war.
But the MND also said that in the past decade, the budget for national defense has registered negative growth, representing a greater decrease in defense spending than that of advanced countries that face no immediate military threat.
He said that the situation has become more serious with the expansion of Beijing's military might, adding that the gap between the two sides has widened. (By Lilian Wu)
|
NEWSLETTER
|
| Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list |
|
|
|
