By Fang Wei-li and Jonathan Chin / Staff reporter, with staff writerTaiwan is “not on the right track” to acquire drone capabilities sufficient to deter a Chinese attack, a former top US defense official told the Taipei Security Dialogue yesterday.請繼續往下閱讀...The Legislative Yuan-approved NT$240 billion （US$7.62 billion） drone budget act, although a welcome development, was too modest and took too much time to pass, former principal deputy assistant secretary of defense for Indo-Pacific security affairs Jedidiah Royal said.The budget was significantly lower than what he and many others in Washington had expected, Royal said, adding that it was a “base hit, not a home run.”The security situation in the Taiwan Strait is governed by two clocks: the “threat clock” posed by China’s growing capabilities and increasingly aggressive actions, and the “delivery clock” of Taiwan’s force-building efforts, Royal said.Chinese President Xi Jinping’s （習近平） policy directives that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army （PLA） achieve performance benchmarks for invading Taiwan and fighting the US, China’s military drills surrounding Taiwan proper and threatening statements should be taken with utmost seriousness, he said.These actions do not mean war is inevitable or impose limits on Beijing’s policies, but speak to the urgency and diligence with which China pursues its strategy of achieving military superiority over its neighbors, peers and the international system, Royal said.To push back the schedule of Xi’s designs on Taiwan, the nation must buy time by matching its delivery clock with China’s threat clock, he said.From this perspective, Taiwan’s investment in drone capabilities is inadequate, Royal said, adding that the nation made significantly less progress than he expected a year ago.Drones are a necessary supplement to Taiwan’s military capabilities, he said.A reliable, networked and responsive system of military drones is a crucial ingredient for Taiwan’s deterrence strategy, he added.Political strife surrounding the drone and defense funding was regrettable, as it wasted valuable time and opportunity for Taiwan to claim a dominant position in non-Chinese defense supply chains, he said.Taiwan’s inability to achieve a consensus on a healthy and viable defense budget is a gift to the nation’s competitors in the military drone sector, he added.Only through increasing military spending and focusing on key systems could Taiwan buy back time it has lost, he said.Should Taiwan fail to display its resolve to defend itself, it would become more isolated than ever on the international arena, face greater pressure from China and have fewer options for determining its future, Royal said.Taiwan has made progress in other areas, including increasing the realism of military exercises, simulating realistic scenarios in war games, incorporating new doctrine, delegating command authority and applying innovative technologies, he said.There is still time for Taiwan’s delivery clock to catch up with China’s threat clock, but that time is rapidly diminishing, he added.新聞來源：TAIPEI TIMES
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