WHITE PAPER: The Japanese Ministry of Defense said it is monitoring the military buildup on both sides of the Taiwan Strait, but the PLA has significant advantages

Taipei Times
Date: Jul 15, 2020
By: Staff writer, with CNA, TOKYO

The military balance in the Taiwan Strait is tilting in China’s favor, and the gap is widening as the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) modernizes its arsenal, an annual defense white paper released by the Japanese Ministry of Defense yesterday said.

Defense of Japan 2020 says that “the overall military balance between China and Taiwan is shifting in favor of China, and the gap appears to be growing year by year,” in its section on China’s relations with foreign countries and regions.

China has been building and modernizing the PLA at an unprecedented rate, while Taiwan relies heavily on US arms sales, the paper said.

“While the United States has continued and reinforced its engagement in Taiwan, China has repeatedly expressed its strong protest against Taiwan’s independence,” it said.
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