The Taiwanese daily noted that after Saturday's US military operation in Venezuela and the abduction of President Nicolas Maduro in Taiwan, questions arose in public space as to whether Beijing would be capable of a similar precision strike against the island's authorities.
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Hsu said on Monday that the military regularly practices relevant scenarios. Commenting on the events in Venezuela, he emphasized that the local equipment obtained from China and Russia turned out to be “definitely inferior” to the US weapons, although the lack of maintenance was also a key problem.
“If the enemy is making progress, we must also make progress,” said the deputy defense minister.
Taiwan faces a threat. The army needs money
At the same time, he warned that a possible failure to approve the defense budget by parliament would mean that the army would not be able to make timely purchases of equipment, repairs or replenish fuel and ammunition stocks, which would directly affect national security.
The Ministry of Defense in Taipei has proposed a budget of NT$561.4 billion (approx. USD 17.8 billion), an increase of NT$87.5 billion compared to last year. According to Hsu, a possible blocking of funds by the opposition in a vote in parliament would affect 21 percent. operational expenses, preventing, among others, development of long-range precision strike systems.
Taiwan is one of the key recipients of American weapons, and defense cooperation between Taipei and Washington has intensified significantly in recent years, which is opposed by the authorities in Beijing.
China recognizes Taiwan as its own territory and its president, Lai Ching-te, as a “separatist” and does not rule out the possibility of taking control of the island by force.
