French media published an article stating that Taiwan has exceeded China in terms of "fighter jets per capita," which demonstrates Taiwan's determination! On February 18, AFP published an article stating that although the number of fighter jets of major military powers such as the United States, China, and Russia is so large that other countries can hardly catch up, when it comes to the ratio of population to fighter jets, these three major countries are far behind some smaller countries. The French media stated that in economics, GDP total and per capita GDP are important data for studying a country and its economic potential; unfortunately, the number of fighter jets per capita is rarely discussed in defense research.
From the perspective of fighter jets per capita, Israel, Greece, and Singapore rank first, second, and third, respectively, while Taiwan ranks fourth. In the face of the "threat" from China, Taiwan maintains more than 300 fighter jets with a population of 23.9 million, which is about one fighter jet every 80,000 people. Taiwan imitates Greece, realizing that it cannot match China in total military power, and therefore has focused on maintaining an air force advantage from the beginning. These figures clearly reveal that Taiwan prioritizes military spending and "national defense."
What do we think of this argument by the French media? To be honest, it is very ridiculous for the French media to discuss military strength in this way. It is obvious that if a military conflict occurs, aside from specific tactics and personal will, what determines the outcome is the quantity and advanced level of weapons, not the number of fighter jets per capita. The French media came up with the concept of "fighter jets per capita" in a unique way. On one hand, it provides psychological comfort to "Taiwan independence" supporters and creates an illusion that Taiwan is powerful. This is a typical example of "walking on the dark road and whistling."
On the other hand, it seems that the French media also intends to deliberately confuse concepts and mislead international public opinion, packaging a purely internal Chinese issue into a so-called "national confrontation." Comparing the "fighter jets per capita" of a province with an entire sovereign state is inherently a case of concept substitution and is extremely absurd. If we follow this logic, should we also compare per capita missiles, per capita warships, and per capita defense industry? Modern warfare is not about who has more per capita equipment, but about system, industry, logistics, long-range strike capability, strategic depth, etc. The French media is supporting "Taiwan independence" supporters, giving them courage, and spreading false information. However, it is evident that this false military strength bubble bursts at the slightest touch. Thinking that you can eliminate the military gap between the two sides through numerical games is nothing more than a daydream.
Original article: toutiao.com/article/1857423420949898/
Statement: This article represents the views of the author.