Taiwan raises defense budget 14.9% amid military reform debate
Record allocation comes as pressure grows to confront hard questions about security
THOMPSON CHAU, Contributing writer, LAULY LI and CHENG TING-FANG, Nikkei staff writersAugust 25, 2022 13:00 JST
TAIPEI -- Taiwan's government proposed a record defense budget for 2023 on Thursday, as its military remains keen to develop conventional weapons despite growing domestic and U.S. calls to focus on asymmetrical warfare.
The proposed budget of NT$523.4 billion ($17.3 billion) is a 14.9% increase from this year's total allocation. The figure includes NT$108.3 for new advanced combat jets and programs for elevating sea and air combat capability. The total budget would reach NT$586.3 billion if another special fund is included.
The budget now goes for approval to the Legislative Yuan, which begins a new session next month.
Taiwan is grappling with increasing Chinese aggression, with concerns growing over the island's ability to defend itself after Beijing conducted its biggest-ever military drills surrounding its neighbor earlier this month. The People's Liberation Army sent aircraft, drones, missiles and warships around Taiwan and its outlying islands after a visit by U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
In January, Taiwanese lawmakers passed an extra spending bill of around $8.6 billion for a five-year special defense budget on top of the annual defense budget. This year, Chinese defense spending has risen by 7.1% to 1.45 trillion yuan ($211 billion), faster than the 6.8% increase in 2021.
Taiwan has never been ruled by communist China, but Beijing claims the island as its own and has refused to rule out an invasion, which would cause a great loss of life and bring economic devastation to the world.
Pressure is growing on Tsai's administration to reform defense, including strengthening reservist forces, doubling down on asymmetrical weapons and creating civilian units. Former U.S. Secretary of Defense Mark Esper, during a visit to Taipei in July, called on Taiwan to extend its existing four-month mandatory military training for conscripts to at least one year and to include women.
Currently, only Taiwanese men over 18 have mandatory training. Taiwanese women can choose to join the armed forces. The latest figures show that of the more than 180,000 military personnel in Taiwan, only 15% are female.
Soldiers take part in Taiwan's Han Kuang military exercise on July 28. The drill simulated a China's People's Liberation Army invasion of the island. © Getty Images
Successive U.S. administrations have pushed Taiwan to modernize its military to become a "porcupine" that is difficult for Beijing to attack and occupy, urging Taipei to purchase weapons that are cheaper and more mobile and survivable. This push is supported by some heavyweights in Taiwan, including Lee Hsi-min, former chief of general staff of Taiwan's armed forces.
In an interview with Nikkei Asia, Lee said Taiwan should prioritize weapons that are cost-effective and more survivable. "Conventional weapons such as tanks, submarines and aircraft have high opportunity costs. If you spend your money on these big weapons, you don't have resources for smaller ones."
"Taiwan should acquire a lot of small, mobile and inexpensive weapons, which could outlast initial assaults by Beijing, especially by Chinese long-range missiles or fighter jets. So Chinese forces have to attempt to get nearer to Taiwan, which makes them more vulnerable," Lee said.
Various obstacles stand in the way of reforms, and military personnel dominate the Defense Ministry.
"There are no civilians in Taiwan's Ministry of National Defense, and civilian-military relations are strained, so the government doesn't have sufficient influence over the military's decision-making," said Bonnie Glaser, a China and Taiwan expert at the German Marshall Fund. "The president is loath to challenge the military and can't effectively do so because there is a lack of civilian defense experts who can provide good analysis and recommendations."
Taiwan's armed forces assess the threats and the countermeasures differently. "The military has not wanted to invest in the reserves, for example. It wants to prioritize preventing the PLA from landing on the beach and doesn't want to invest resources on the possible fight against China if an invasion succeeds," Glaser noted.
The U.S. policy establishment and some Taiwanese experts have supported the idea of creating a territorial defense force.
Citing Ukraine's success in staving off Russian invaders, Lee said a standing, all-volunteer Taiwanese territorial defense force would raise the cost and uncertainty for a Chinese invasion, and strengthen deterrence by demonstrating national resolve.
But others disagree. Wong Ming-Shien of the Graduate Institute of International Affairs and Strategic Studies cited insufficient funding, the lack of training grounds and weaponry, and the impact on the professional armed forces if they were tasked with training civilians.
"Existing technical constraints should not be the reason to not invest in a force structure that would help prevent war," said Enoch Wu of the ruling DPP, a former staffer at Taiwan's national security council and former special forces soldier.
"Given Taiwan already spends over a quarter of our national budget on defense, the government should consider divesting from legacy platforms and reallocating resources to a ministry that is able to carry out this mission," Wu said.
Ivan Kanapathy, a senior associate with think tank CSIS and formerly a China director on the National Security Council, said China's recent firing of PHL 16 rockets from Pingtan island, one of China's closest points to Taiwan, into the Strait offers valuable lessons for Taipei.
"The PLA Ground Force has been investing heavily in its own asymmetric capabilities to soften Taiwan's resistance -- using a large amount of fires at a relatively low cost. Taiwan frankly needs to take lessons on this approach of using cost-effective capabilities," he said.