TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The Ministry of National Defense (MND) will provide objective evaluations and make the best preparations to strengthen the military, Minister of National Defense Chiu Kuo-cheng (邱國正) said on Monday (Oct. 23).

Building and preparing a military force is not based on public opinion or external comments, Chiu said while addressing the Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee at the Legislative Yuan, per CNA.

The U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) recently released its annual report on Military and Security Developments Involving the People's Republic of China, which reviewed the latest developments in China’s military buildup as well as highlighted Taiwan’s efforts to bolster its asymmetric warfare capabilities.

Chiu said that the process of strengthening the military is based on an assessment of the challenges it faces, and various parties, including the Chinese Communist Party, also provide evaluations of its own. The minister said he believes it is not wise to pin one's hopes of victory on the mistakes of others.

Chiu said the MND carefully considers all information and assessments released by different governments and institutions, including analyses of threats, advantages, and disadvantages. They are all taken into account in the ministry’s future plans, he said.

The Pentagon report noted that China’s military modernization efforts “continue to widen the capability gap compared to Taiwan’s military.” However, it said Taiwan has ramped up “new concepts and capabilities” to boost its asymmetric defense to counter China.