TAIPEI, March 20 (Reuters) – Taiwan’s Defense Minister Ku Wei-jun said on Friday that as its military buildup continues unabated, China poses an urgent threat and requires effective deterrence to ensure that any attack is very dangerous for Beijing.
China does not currently plan to invade Taiwan in 2027 and seeks to take control of the island without the use of force, the U.S. intelligence community said on Wednesday, striking a cautious tone on one of the world’s biggest potential flashpoints.
Beijing has increased pressure on Taiwan, which it considers its own territory, through frequent military exercises. Taiwan’s democratically elected government rejects Beijing’s sovereignty claims.
Referring to the U.S. report, Koo said China has neither given up the option of using force against Taiwan nor slowed down its military spending.
“So its military expansion and the threat it poses to us remains very serious,” he told reporters in parliament.
“We need to create a sense that any plan to attack Taiwan would carry very high risks: in other words, a very low assessment of the success of an invasion.”
If China continues to expand its military and Taiwan’s defense capabilities do not improve, the likelihood of an attack will rise, Ku said.
“On the other hand, if our defense capabilities continue to improve and our deterrence becomes stronger, then it will be less prepared to launch an attack on Taiwan, thus having the effect of repeatedly postponing such a date.”
China’s Foreign Ministry said on Thursday that Taiwan was an internal issue and the United States needed to “stop hyping up the ‘China threat theory.'”
Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te has proposed $40 billion in additional defense spending, but the plan has made slow progress in parliament, with the opposition party with the most seats complaining that the plans are too vague and cannot be counted on as a “blank check” for its lawmakers to sign.
Lai on Thursday visited Taiwan’s new domestic submarine, which is still undergoing sea trials, as well as one of Taiwan’s two existing combat-capable submarines purchased from the Netherlands in the 1980s.
One of the two Dutch-made submarines has already been upgraded and the upgrade of the other will be completed by the end of this year, Gu said.
“These two submarines will significantly enhance our combat capabilities,” he said.
(Reporting by Ben Blanchard; Editing by Kevin Buckland)
