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| 2013/07/31 01:28:36瀏覽97｜回應0｜推薦0 | |
| Taiwan speaks softly and carries a big stick
Straits Times, The (Singapore) - Friday, May 18, 2012 SENIOR writer William Choong's argument that Taiwan's attempts to strengthen its military were half-hearted contained a simple misunderstanding ('Taiwan's Chinese conundrum', Monday). President Ma Ying-jeou's government has never given a thought to weakening its defence capacity in exchange for the peace across the Taiwan Strait. The statistics tell the story. In Mr Ma's first presidential term (2008-2012), the annual amount of foreign arms sales was US$4.6 billion (S$5.8 billion), far exceeding the US$1 billion spent between 2000 and 2008, as well as the US$1.3 billion of the 1990s. Taiwan continues to urge the United States to provide necessary defensive weaponry because, as President Ma stated last year, 'the right leverage must be in place, otherwise Taiwan cannot credibly maintain an equal footing at the negotiation table'. Yet, engaging in the 'cross-strait arms race' should not be the answer. Taiwan believes that peace can be made only under a comprehensive interaction between two sides. In an era of global interdependence, Taiwan's security no longer relies merely on hard military power, but much more on soft democratic power. In short, Mr Ma's rapprochement policy has defused the cross-strait tension, as well as undermined the legitimacy of China's use of force. It should be the best way to demonstrate Sun Tzu's Art Of War that the highest form of generalship is to baulk the enemy's plans. Charles I-Hsin Chen Former spokesman, ruling Kuomintang in Taiwan |
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| ( 時事評論｜國際 ) |
