Frequent incursions by mainland Chinese military jets could drag Taiwan into a war of attrition, potentially depleting the island’s defense budget in the long term, according to experts.

Taiwan had launched aircrafts in response to fighter jets from the People’s Liberation Army that had invaded its airspace, but each take-off cost the self-ruled island at least NT$1 million (US$34,381) in fuel. If the situation continues in the long run, Taiwan may not be able to afford the massive costs, said Andrew Yang, secretary-general of Taipei-based think tank Council of Advanced Policy Studies.

Yang’s concern was echoed by Taiwanese Premier Su Tseng-chang, who on Wednesday admitted that spending on fighter jets was high. “Nobody wants to see war. War is most destructive to the economy and social stability,” he said.

Su urged Beijing to stop breaching peace across the strait, adding that in doing so, the mainland would also benefit, including economically.

Taiwan’s spending on military logistics climbed from NT$65.9 billion in 2017 to NT$68.4 billion in 2018 and rose further to NT$74.2 billion in 2019 before dropping just slightly to NT$73.9 billion this year. The cost is expected to be at NT$77 billion next year.

As a fuel-saving strategy, analysts have suggested Taiwanese armed forces first use land-based radars to lock onto and assess their targets before launching fighter jets. They also said Taiwan’s self-developed IDF jets were aging and could no longer afford to fly twice a day.

Last week, 18 PLA warplanes crossed into Taiwan’s air defense identification zone when Keith Krach, the U.S. under secretary for economic growth, energy, and the environment was visiting the island. Some of the mainland aircrafts reached 37 nautical miles (68.5 kilometers) off Taiwan’s shores.

Beijing’s defense budget was about 1.26 trillion yuan (US$186 billion) this year while Taiwan’s was NT$358 billion.

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