Print

Mail

wiki links

Classified defense spending drops

The proposed classified portion of the defense budget for next year marks the lowest-ever in the history of the Ministry of National Defense (MND), occupying only 16 percent of the defense budget.

The classified defense spending for next year is only NT$41.8 billion, lower than any previous year.

That number is NT$3.1 million less than this year.

The defense budget for this year and the proposed budget for next year are around NT$260 billion each.

The development conforms to the ministry's policy to reduce year-by-year the classified portion of the annual defense budget.

The ministry declared the policy in White Paper this year, saying it was meant to meet growing public demand for transparency in defense spending.

In 1993, classified defense spending accounted for as much as 61.17 percent of the whole defense budget, according to the White Paper.

But that figure has been steadily dropping to 17.67 percent this year.

Although the ministry has successfully made a downward adjustment of the portion of classified spending in its yearly budget, it has not yet removed the National Security Bureau (NSB) from its budget book.

While the NSB is under the Presidential Office, its annual budget has been placed under the classified defense spending budget for many years under the name "Tinyuan Project."

Some lawmakers have called for the NSB's budget to be separated from that of the ministry's, so as to enable lawmakers to better monitor the nation's top intelligence agency.

Next year's classified defense spending highlights investments on the development of a cruise missile, an anti-missile defense system, and an improved version of an anti-ship missile currently in use.

The cruise missile, based on the locally-built Hsing Feng-II anti-ship missile, is expected to become an effective weapon against the Chinese military.

It is being developed by the Chung Shan Institute of Science and Technology (CSIST) of the military.

The project, code-named "Hsiung Sheng," is a multi-year investment. It is scheduled to be completed in the next few years.

The anti-missile defense system, also under development by the CSIST, is expected to enter the final phases in the years to come.

The CSIST has another missile development project in hand -- the production of the Hsing Feng-III anti-ship missile, though its progress is unclear.

Besides the investments on new missile systems, the military is secretly introducing new hardware from abroad to enhance its overall combat capabilities.

The army, for instance, is to spend over NT$2 billion on buying a new tactical communication system from the US.

The purchase is expected to greatly improve the army's command, control and communication capabilities.

The air force also hopes to obtain new items from abroad, such as another 80 AIM-120 air-to-air missiles and long-range radar systems.
This story has been viewed 2369 times.