Dfense Talk
September 2, 2010
Taipei: China is ramping-up its military presence facing Taiwan despite the easing of hostilities across the Strait, a defence ministry report cited by local media warned Wednesday.
“Although the cross-Strait ties have improved significantly in recent years, the Chinese communists’ military have not slowed at all their pace of build-up aimed at Taiwan,” the United Daily News said, citing the ministry report.
In a report to the US Congress last month, the Pentagon also warned that China’s military build-up against the island has “continued unabated” despite improving political relations across the Taiwan Strait.
China’s military spending for 2010 rose 7.5 percent on last year, in spite of the global economic downturn, said the Taiwan report which was sent to parliament last week.
Looking ahead, the defence report said Beijing may offer concessions to Taipei on minor issues but will not budge on the decades-old dispute over the island’s sovereignty. [FULL STORY]
