MND URGES LEGISLATIVE SUPPORT FOR DEFENSE BUDGET
ROC Central News Agency
2007-01-24 12:22:54
Taipei, Jan. 23 (CNA) The Ministry of National Defense (MND) has stepped up efforts to urge the legislature to support increasing the defense budget to finance major military procurement projects in the face of China's mounting military threat.
As part of the campaign, the MND held a news conference Tuesday to elaborate on China's intensified military buildup and reminded lawmakers from across the political spectrum of the importance of passing the government's defense budget for 2007 during the planned extra legislative session.
Aided by China's fast growing economic clout, the People's Liberation Army's naval and airborne combat capabilities, particularly its space and undersea capabilities, have grown by leaps and bounds in recent years, threatening to tilt the regional military balance and causing grave concerns among neighboring countries, Tung Hsiang-lung, director of the MND's training and standard development department, said at the start of the news conference.
In the standoff with China, Tung said, Taiwan may lose its qualitative edge if it fails to accelerate its military modernization and establish an elite deterrent force.
While the Executive Yuan has earmarked NT$323.4 billion (US$9.8 billion) for defense purposes in its 2007 budget plan, Tung lamented that the Legislative Yuan's Defense Committee not only slashed NT$18.5 billion but also proposed freezing NT$22.7 billion of the defense budget during the budget bill's first reading in the just-concluded legislative session.
He said the committee's move, if maintained in the subsequent screening during the plenary session, would gravely hobble execution of the MND's major military procurement projects aimed at upgrading the country's arsenal.
Tung was referring to the three long-stalled military procurement projects -- eight diesel-electric submarines, six Patriot PAC III anti-missile batteries and a squadron of 12 P-3C submarine-hunting aircraft.
If the three procurement projects falter, Tung warned, the China/Taiwan military strength ratio will widen to 2.8 to 1 between 2020 and 2035, which he claimed could tempt China into trying to take Taiwan by force.
Noting that the commissioning of four U.S.-built Keelung-class destroyers, formerly known as Kidd-class destroyers, into service last year has helped narrow the China/Taiwan military power ratio to 1.43 to 1 from 1.53 to 1 for the period from 1995 through 2005, Tung said investment in advanced weaponry systems will contribute to the advancement of the country's military muscle while slowing a further tipping in China's favor of the cross-Taiwan Strait military balance.
If all the three procurement projects are carried through, Tung said, Taiwan's combat capabilities will be largely reinforced and upgraded, particularly after the projected commissioning of the eight submarines into service in 2017.
Tung further said he believes that acquisition of state-of-the-art weaponry systems could be an effective deterrence and thus prevent a cross-strait conflict.
Over the past decade, Tung continued, the country's defense budget has invariably hovered around NT$260 billion with defense spending as a percentage of gross domestic product (GDP) declining steadily to 2.17 percent in 2006.
With the Executive Yuan's approval, Tung said, this year's defense budget share has been raised to 2.85 percent of GDP. In addition to the three big-ticket weaponry procurement projects, the budget bill also includes funds needed for procuring advanced F-16C/D jet fighters to cope with a possible tilting in air supremacy in favor of China from 2008.
Pointing out that the United States agreed to sell eight conventional submarines to Taiwan only after 20 years of intensive lobbying and planning by Taiwan, Tung said he hopes the opposition-controlled legislature can speed up passage of the budget bill. "Otherwise, the deal could be aborted due to Taiwan's long delay. Should that be the case, the cross-strait military balance would quickly tilt in China's favor," Tung cautioned.
The news conference, chaired by the MND's Political Warfare Bureau Director Gen. Wu Ta-peng, came amid reports of China's anti-satellite test and deployment of its advanced Jian-10 jet fighters at an air base approximately 500 kilometers from Taiwan.
Several senior intelligence officers at the MND, including Maj. Gen. Wang Cheng-hsiao, were also present at the news conference.
Wang said China's actions in developing space weaponry and deploying more ballistic missiles targeting Taiwan are endangering regional peace.
Wang also confirmed reports that Beijing has built up a huge arsenal of missiles facing Taiwan, up from 190 ballistic missiles in 1996. "China has stockpiled 880 ballistic missiles and more than 100 cruise missiles, placing the whole of Taiwan within their range, " Wang said, adding that these missiles "pose a serious threat to Taiwan."
Taiwan has deployed three U.S.-made Patriot anti-missile batteries to defend the densely populated greater Taipei area, and it is seeking to purchase more to shield the entire island.
Wang also called attention to the fact that China's military has recently added about 60 J-10 aircraft, whose combat capabilities are tipped to be on par with those of the F-16 A/Bs used by Taiwan's Air Force. "Armed with these airplanes, as well as Russian-built Su-27s and Su-30s fighters, China will have supremacy over Taiwan in the air, " he warned.
(By Sofia Wu)
enditem/Li
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