Provided by Yimou Lee and Ben Blanchard
Taipei (Reuters) -Cinema spent $ 21 billion on military exercises in the Taiwan Strait, Eastern and South China Sea and the Western Pacific, almost 40% more than 2023, based on Taiwan Government estimates based on aircraft and ship monitoring and other expenses and other expenses.
Taiwan’s armed forces internal research over reviewed by Reuters and confirmed by four Taiwan officials offers a rare detail where Chinese defense costs are likely to take place as Beijing expands its military footprint and its exercise volume, disturbing regional capitals and Washington.
The Chinese budget was 1.67 trillion yuan ($ 233.47 billion) last year, but diplomats are widely found that the number is not reported enough. China does not give any decomposition of how money is spent.
Officials who were introduced to investigations refused to determine the sensitivity of this issue.
Neither the Chinese Ministry of Defense nor its Taiwanese Affairs Service responded to the requests to comment. China, to whom Taiwan considers its territory due to the Taipei’s government’s contradictions, has repeatedly stated that its military costs are transparent and have no threat.
Reuters could not independently confirm the accuracy of the Taiwan estimation. Experts said the report methodology was possible and could provide valuable information, although they warned that it necessarily covered a certain speculation.
Taiwan’s troops this month made their own ratings based on Taiwan’s observation and intelligence in China’s military activities in the sea near the Northeast China, the East Sea, the Taiwan Strait, the South China Sea and the Western Pacific.
The reports were held in China’s maritime and air missions in 2024, then calculated how much fuel and other performance will cost every hour of operation. A total of about $ 152 billion yuan ($ 21.25 billion), including maintenance, repair and salaries, reported and reported the investigation.
According to Reuters estimates, according to the same calculations, these estimated costs were about 9% of China in 2024. Military costs compared to 7% 2023 based on the same calculations.
“The ongoing military development of China and the provocations of gray zone are greatly damaged by peace and stability in the Indo-River Ocean region,” said the Taiwan Defense Ministry of Defense Reuters, which did not deal with reports and other assessments.
2024. Chinese aircraft, including the J-10 fighter jets, H-6 bombers and drones, have organized nearly 12,000 flights in the region, and orally 37,000 hours, according to a statement. They are both about 30%compared to previous years, officials said.
The Chinese Navy sailed more than 86,000, including aircraft carriers and destroyers, a total of more than 2 million hours at sea, which is approximately 20%compared to both metrics a year ago, the report said.
Approximately 34% of the Chinese Navy’s travels were held in a highly disputed Sea of South China, about 28% in the East China Sea, bordering Japan and South Korea, and nearly 14% in a sensitive Taiwan Strait, the report said.
“They are trying to normalize the projection of their military power and intimidation around the first chain of the island,” said one of the officials who informed the investigation.
The first island chain is the area from Japan through Taiwan, Philippines and Borneo, covering the Chinese coastal seas and the disputed Sea of the South China.
The Chinese Navy also acted even further from the shores of the country, including participating in the fight against Pathrols at Somalia, while the US reported the Chinese Navy’s movement around Alaska and changes in the North Pacific.
Studies are designed to help Taiwanese policy makers understand how China distributes military resources in all regions, as well as to assess the pace of Beijing military development, officials said reports.
The number of 152 billion yuan is about a quarter of Taiwan in 2024. Defense budget.
(1 USD = $ 7,1529 Chinese yuan Renminbi)
(1 USD = $ 7,1529 Chinese yuan Renminbi)
(Reporting Yimou Lee and Ben Blanchard; Edited by Raju Gopalakrishnan)