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Military rebuts media 'surrender' accusation

ROC Central News Agency

2011/07/20 18:26:33

By Nancy Liu

Taipei, July 20 (CNA) A newly released National Defense Report is not tantamount to a flag of surrender to China as alleged by a local newspaper , the Ministry of National Defense (MND) said Wednesday amid concerns spurred by the huge military imbalance between Taiwan and China listed in the report.

Issued July 19, the annual report details the wide difference between the two countries in terms of national defense budgets, military manpower and weaponry. A local Chinese-language newspaper likened the report to raising a white flag to China.

Without dwelling in detail on the existing military gap, a press release from the MND focused on the features of the national defense force, which it described as "small but refined, small but powerful, small but precise."

The MND brushed off accusations from opposition Democratic Progressive Party (DPP)legislators that the government has weakened the military by cutting its budget and ceasing the procurement of advanced arms.

According to DPP Legislator Tsai Huang-liang, Taiwan's military spending accounted for less than 3 percent of the country's Gross Domestic Product (GDP), a lack of funding that he said will undermine Taiwan's military capability.

China's military manpower is approximately 2.3 million-strong, while Taiwan has a force in the region of 0.27 million. In terms of budget, the People's Liberation Army had roughly US$77 billion in 2010, compared with Taiwan's military budget of around US$9 billion.

The press release noted that Taiwan spent a total of US$13 billion on two batches of weapons from Washington in 2008 and 2010, which the MND said have helped improve the nation's combat ability.