Press Release
25 June 2008
Asia Pacific Jane’s Strategic Briefing
NTUH International Convention Center, Taipei, June 2008.
Contact:
Mandy Castle
Jane’s Information Group
Press & PR Officer
+44 (0) 208 700 3745
For Immediate Release
Taipei, Republic of China (June. 24, 2008) -- Jane’s Information Group hosted their first Asia Pacific Jane’s Strategic Briefing in the Republic of China as part of their Thought Leadership program. This event was the first held in conjunction with the National Solutions program that Jane’s is promoting in the Republic of China and Asia Pacific.
The speakers at Jane’s Strategic briefing included several prominent figures. Dr Lin, Taiwan’s ex Defence Minister and Richard Bitzinger, Senior Fellow, S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies in Singapore, discussed the future challenges facing this area.
Dr Lin, Taiwan’s ex Defence Minister spoke about the People’s Liberation Army challenge that is currently faced by Taiwan.
‘ Taiwan is facing a Peoples Liberation Army (PLA) challenge quite different from the past, which was an all-out military attack to subjugate the island. The PLA soldiers today are increasingly sophisticated diplomatically, willing to coordinate with other branches of the government, and prepared to fight with finesse, and driven to learning and even scholarship.
Dr Lin further commented ‘PLA strategy is a low-priority subset of Beijing's increasingly integrated grand strategy of extra-military emphasis. Beijing's military option on Taiwan, if ever resorted to, is to deter the U.S. and to seize Taiwan. PLA operation on Taiwan is to fight a war of paralysis rather than that of annihilation, one of quick-decision rather than that of protraction.
‘ Taiwan's defense should be a prioritized subset of Taiwan's grand strategy. Taiwan's defense should be predicated on deterrence by denial rather than deterrence by punishment. Taiwan should fight an asymmetrical war against the invading PLA and deny the enemy a quick victory. Such capability, if demonstrated with credibility, constitutes a deterrent,’ concluded Dr Lin.
Richard Bitzinger, speaking at Jane’s Strategic Briefing, commented ‘ Taiwan currently faces three dilemmas with regard to future defense policy: a dilemma in defense spending, a dilemma in arms procurement, and a dilemma when it comes to the future of its local defense industry. Taiwanese military expenditures have declined by one-quarter over the past decade, while China has increased defense spending fivefold over the same period; even the recent uptick in Taiwanese defense spending may be too modest to quickly turn around and compensate for a lost decade of low military expenditures. At the same time, stagnant procurement spending has resulted in a procurement holiday for the Taiwanese military for several years.’
‘This is particularly alarming given that Taiwan was, during most of the 1990s, a major buyer of imported arms with more than US$20 billion worth between 1995 and 2002. Taiwan, in fact, has not concluded a major arms deal in years.’
Bitzinger concluded, ‘Finally, Taiwan's defense industry has withered as new orders for equipment have dried up and readjustment efforts, arms exports or defense conversion, have been largely unsuccessful because for years, Taipei has been unable or unwilling to undertake strong measures to reverse the decline in arms procurement or the hollowing out of the local defense industry, and it remains uncertain whether the new KMT government will be able to reverse the slide.’
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Editor’s notes:
To interview to one of Jane’s experts please contact Mandy Castle, PR Manager, Jane's Information Group (contact details at top of page).
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Dr Lin Chong Pin - President of the Foundation on International and Cross-strait Studies, ROC. Dr. Chong-Pin Lin is also a professor in the Graduate Institute of International Affairs and Strategic Studies at Tamkang University. He formerly served as Taiwan’s Deputy Minister of National Defense and was the first Vice Chairman of the Mainland Affairs Council. He is the author of China’s Nuclear Weapons Strategy (Lexington Books, 1988), and Yizhi Qusheng [Win With Wisdom] ( Taipei: Global Defense Magazine Publisher, 2005).
Mr Richard Bitzinger - Senior Fellow, S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, Singapore. Bitzinger’s work focuses on military and defence issues relating to the Asia-Pacific region, including the challenges of defence transformation in the Asia-Pacific, regional military modernization activities and local defence industries, arms production and weapons proliferation. He is the author of Towards a Brave New Arms Industry? (Oxford University Press, 2003), “Come the Revolution: Transforming the Asia-Pacific’s Militaries,” Naval War College Review (Fall 2005), and Transforming the U.S. Military: Implications for the Asia-Pacific (ASPI, December 2006). He has written several monographs and book chapters and his articles have appeared in such journals as International Security, Orbis, China Quarterly and The Korean Journal of Defense Analysis. He was previously an Associate Professor with the Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies (APCSS), Honolulu, Hawaii, and has also worked for the RAND Corporation, the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Affairs and the U.S. Government. In 1999-2000 he was a Senior Fellow with the Atlantic Council of the United States.
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