Trump Administration wants Taiwan to double defense spending: Pomfret
Taiwan News
Date: 2018/01/06
By: Matthew Strong, Taiwan News, Staff Writer
TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – An eventual military attack by China against Taiwan would not
Military drills in Taiwan. (By Associated Press)
necessarily end with a victory for Beijing, but the island needs to step up its military spending, according to an op-ed piece in the Washington Post.
In the article “Can China really take over Taiwan?,” former Post correspondent in Beijing John Pomfret considers recent theories that China has given up on the peaceful unification option and might be preparing for a military assault, according to some as early as 2020.
The writer notes the recent escalation in Chinese military drills close to the island, with air force jets and navy vessels entering Taiwan’s Air Defense Identification Zone. On Wednesday, President Xi Jinping (習近平) told his military to be “battle ready,” while earlier, a Chinese diplomat based in Washington warned against the U.S. sending Navy ships into Taiwanese harbors, which a new law allows it to do. [FULL STORY]