The Taiwanese military is not prepared with enough weapons and equipment to defend against a Chinese invasion, a leading US security research institute has found.
RAND Corporation, a California-based non-profit think tank, said the island nation’s priorities are not aligned with its goal of bolstering its defense capabilities against a major adversary.
It reportedly does not invest enough in defense, and its money is largely spent on outdated systems.
“Taiwan’s leaders may doubt that [China] will actually invade, just as the leaders of Ukraine doubted Russia would invade in early 2022,” the report noted, “but an invasion poses an existential risk to Taiwan.”
The research also revealed that some in Taipei may be content with their military response to illegal Chinese incursions.
It cautioned that if the intrusions continue, comfort with Taiwan’s interceptions may diminish.
Recommendations
RAND pointed out that urgent recommendations have been published over the past decade to improve Taipei’s defense outlook.
It believes that the self-ruled nation “can and should do more” to field a force capable of countering Chinese aggression.
To do that, the country must field weapons and platforms capable of sufficient lethality.
Such weapons would wear down an invasion in the opening days of a conflict, according to RAND.
Taipei should also assess its existing force and future investments to determine if it can survive and operate effectively against a full-scale attack.
“Taiwan has embraced the rhetoric of asymmetric warfare, but its budget reflects a preference for legacy systems. As a result, there is a gap between the US’ and Taiwan’s goals for the direction of Taiwan’s defense program,” the study found.
