Taiwan’s capabilities in software and IT hardware will also likely stand it in good stead when it comes to developing Taiwan’s cyber warfare capabilities.
The News Lens
Date: 2017/05/12
By: Tim Ferry
In the face of China’s rapid military build-up and Beijing’s pressure on other
Photo Credit: WIKI
countries not to sell weaponry to Taiwan, “what can Taiwan do except developing its own defense industry?” asks National Chengchi University professor Arthur Ding (丁樹範), a defense specialist. “It’s the inevitable outcome of China’s interference.”
The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) has long made national defense a key plank in the party’s platform, and during her election campaign, President Tsai Ing-wen(蔡英文) promised to raise defense spending to at least 3% of GDP.
Taiwan’s defense budget for 2016 comes in at NT$356 billion (US$11.6 billion), just over 2% of GDP, but Defense Minister Feng Shih-kuan recently announced that the defense budget would rise by 50% to reach 3% of GDP in 2018. [FULL STORY]
