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Taiwanese, Chinese militaries urged to start interaction

ROC Central News Agency

2012/03/25 19:37:26

Taipei, March 25 (CNA) The relaxation in cross-Taiwan Strait tension in recent years offers chances for interaction between Taiwan's military and China's People's Liberation Army (PLA), a scholar said Sunday.

The two sides could start with basic cooperation projects, Wang Kao-cheng of Tamkang University told a one-day forum held to address the nation's current defense status and future prospects.

The military expert suggested sea rescue, anti-piracy collaboration, anti-terrorism plans and other non-traditional security issues as workable options for interaction.

Taiwan and China could then move on to scholarly exchanges and talks on the possibility of establishing hotlines to avoid accidental conflict, he said.

Such cooperation would not have to be included in a peace pact, he added.

The concept of the possibility of a peace pact between Taiwan and China was introduced by President Ma Ying-jeou during his election campaign last year.

With the recently eased cross-strait tension, the military challenges Taiwan is facing right now are long-term rather than immediate threats, Wang added.

A possible reduction in Taiwan's military budget due to economic circumstances, for example, might trigger a wide range of problems, including difficulty carrying out military reforms, he said.

The Ma administration has announced that Taiwan will adopt a volunteer military service system to replace the existing compulsory system by 2015, part of efforts to streamline the military.

In view of a falling birth rate, the transition will require careful planning, as the recruitment package will need to be sufficiently attractive to persuade 215,000 people to enlist, he said.

On the other hand, China is increasing its military power by raising its military spending, an imbalance Wang said deserves greater attention.

Non-traditional threats such as earthquakes and the role played by the country's military in disaster relief missions should also be widely discussed, he added.

Lin Cheng-yi, a researcher at Academia Sinica, the nation's top research institute, said at the forum that helping out with disaster relief should not be the military's priority task.

The military's priority should lie in the preparation for possible warfare, so disaster relief missions should be the concern of other agencies such as the Ministry of Interior, according to Lin.

(By Nancy Liu)
ENDITEM/J