The reduction is part of a five-year plan aimed at trimming the size of Taiwan's armed forces by 60,000, or more than 20 percent from the present level of 275,000 troops.

But the defence ministry said the island's defensive capabilities would not be undermined as it seeks more high-tech and powerful weapons.

"The era of maintaining a huge number of forces has gone. Defence capability is no longer determined by the number of troops," the ministry's acting spokesman Lo Shau-ho told AFP.

Taiwan's relatively large army is a legacy of decades of tensions with China, which still regards the island as part of its territory since the two sides split at the end of a civil war in 1949.

However, ties have improved dramatically since Taiwan President Ma Ying-jeou of the China-friendly Kuomintang party came to power in 2008 promising to boost cross-strait trade and tourism.

China's own military budget is set to rise nearly 13 percent to 601.1 billion yuan ($91.7 billion) this year, officials said Friday, while stressing that the mainland wants to modernise its armed forces for defensive duties.

But China's build-up is widely seen by analysts as geared in large part at reclaiming Taiwan. Taiwanese experts say China has more than 1,600 missiles aimed at the self-ruled island.

Despite the easing of tensions with Taiwan's giant neighbour, Ma says the island needs to maintain sufficient self-defence while pressing for dialogue with Beijing.

In January 2010, the US government announced a weapons package for Taiwan that includes Patriot missiles, Black Hawk helicopters and equipment for Taiwan's F-16 fleet, but no submarines or new fighter aircraft.

Beijing reacted angrily to the arms deal, saying it would cut military and security contacts with the United States. But Ma's government continues to press Washington for an improved version of the F-16 fighter.

earlier related report
Poll boost for Taiwan's anti-China opposition
Taipei (AFP) March 6, 2011 - Taiwan's main anti-China opposition beat the ruling party in weekend parliamentary by-elections its leader said were a crucial indicator for the 2012 presidential polls.

Hsu Tien-tsai and Lin Tai-hua, candidates running for the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), breezed past their rivals nominated by President Ma Ying-jeou's Beijing-friendly Kuomintang party at Saturday's polls in Tainan and Kaohsiung, both strongholds of the DPP in the south.

DPP chairwoman Tsai Ing-wen, a possible presidential candidate, said the by-elections were a "key battle" ahead of the 2012 presidential polls.

"The victory has made us more confident in the coming elections," she said in a statement, adding that the outcome was a message from the people.

"The promises guaranteed by Ma during the previous election have not been honoured at all... foremost, the youths cannot see where their future will be under the Kuomintang government," she said.

Tsai said she would lead her party to regain power and seize the majority in parliament.

The DPP, led by Tsai, has now won nine out of 12 seats contested in parliamentary by-elections since 2008 when it lost to the Kuomintang in a humiliating defeat.

After Saturday's polls, the KMT remains the majority, with 73 out of the 111 seats. The DPP has 33 seats, with the remainder held by independents.

KMT secretary general Liao Liao-yi apologised to supporters for what he said was a worse-than-expected outcome.

Ma, who is likely to announce his bid to seek another four-year term later this year, has never managed to regain his record high popularity rating of 79 percent, reached two days after he was elected president.

Several recent surveys indicated that Ma's approval rates were still below the 50-percent level although the island's economy grew 10.82 percent in 2010, its fastest rate for 24 years, fuelled by rapid expansion in the island's main trading partner China.

Analysts say that the impressive economic growth has failed to bring substantial benefits to the public as the gap between the rich and poor keeps widening.

del.icio.us	Digg	Reddit
YahooMyWeb	Google	Facebook

Memory Foam Mattress Review

SPACE MEDIA NETWORK PROMOTIONS Solar Energy Solutions Tempur-Pedic Mattress Comparison ... Newsletters :: SpaceDaily :: SpaceWar :: TerraDaily :: Energy Daily XML Feeds :: Space News :: Earth News :: War News :: Solar Energy News