TAIPEI, KOMPAS.com – Government Taiwan stressed, their military will last as long as possible if China invaded.
Defense Minister Chiu Kuo-cheng, who was only appointed last month, said this in response to a joint parliamentary hearing.
A number of lawmakers questioned comments made by Navy officials AS, Admiral Philip Davidson.
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Davidson, who acts as US commander in the Indo-Pacific theater, said China could invade Taiwan in six years.
In a meeting with the national defense and foreign affairs committee, Chiu called Davidson’s remarks “reasonable.”
The Minister of Defense, who is a former intelligence chief, explained that they would review all assessments made by other countries.
According to him, the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) could attack at any time, unlike what Davidson said.
Therefore, he agreed with the statement made by his colleague, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin during a visit to Tokyo, Japan.
To the media crew, the first black US defense minister did not want to speculate when Beijing would invade.
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“My job is to make sure we are ready to face threats directed at us or at allies,” he said.
Chiu agrees with Austin’s words, that they cannot determine when “Panda Country” will exert its strength.
He honestly stated, right now “Panda Country” has enough ability to attack them.
“As to whether they can conquer this place, I do not want to speculate,” he was quoted as saying Newsweek Thursday (18/3/2021).
When asked if Taiwan military could match the superior ability of a neighbor, Chiu gave a firm answer.
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“This is not only a matter of ability. But also willingness,” he said. He always asked his men to stop asking how many days Taiwan could detain China.
“The question is, how many days will they be able to fight? We will serve them as long as it takes,” he promised.
This year, Taipei announced an increase in its defense budget allocation, amounting to US $ 12.9 billion (Rp.185.9 trillion).
That amount is 2.4 percent of GDP. Although, still, it is 25 times less than China’s military spending.
Chiu stressed that they would not be able to compare the budgets of the two countries. However, his party is targeting the military budget to be three percent of GDP.
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