The Cabinet yesterday approved a special budget of NT$610.8 billion (US$18.25 billion) for procuring arms from the US.
The draft bill must still be reviewed and approved by the legislature.
The money is to be spent over the next 15 years. While NT$412 billion would be marked for eight diesel-electric submarines, NT$145 billion would be allocated for six Patriot anti-missile systems and NT$53 billion for 12 P-3C anti-submarine aircraft.
While the Cabinet plans to issue bonds to raise NT$420 billion, NT$100 billion would come from selling public lands owned by the Ministry of Defense and NT$94 billion from selling shares of state-owned enterprises.
Cabinet Spokesman Chen Chi-mai (陳其邁) said yesterday at a press conference after the weekly closed-door Cabinet meeting that a special budget allocation was made because the Cabinet does not want arms purchases to be crowded out in annual budgets.
Chen said it is important to provide the armed forces with more advanced equipment, adding that China has made double-digit increases in its military budget every year since 1995 while Taiwan has been cutting military spending.
The nation's military expenditures accounted for 24.3 percent of the total budget in 1994. They accounted for only 16.5 percent last year.
``The Chinese Communists have boosted their military spending in recent years, and the Cabinet is very worried about it,'' Chen said.
US President George W. Bush made the offer to sell Taiwan the hardware three years ago.
The Cabinet has insisted that Taiwanese companies be involved in building the submarines, though the US has said that doing so would drive up the cost substantially.
Under the Cabinet's plan, state-run China Shipbuilding would send technicians overseas to observe construction of the first two submarines and learn about the design, production and logistics involved in building the vessels.
The Cabinet hopes the company would then be able to build one-third of the hardware for the third and fourth subs. For the fifth and sixth subs, the Cabinet hopes the company can build two-thirds of the hardware and then build all of the remaining two.
Lawmakers have questioned if the Patriot missiles could effectively counter China's ballistic or cruise missiles, and have complained about the high costs of other weapons.
Meanwhile, Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (
The delegation will meet with officials in the Department of Defense and the State Department, and will travel to Washington, DC, Texas and Hawaii.
additional reporting by Debby Wu
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s largest foundry service provider, yesterday said that global semiconductor revenue is projected to hit US$1.5 trillion in 2030, after the figure exceeds US$1 trillion this year, as artificial intelligence (AI) demand boosts consumption of token and compute power. “We are still at the beginning of the AI revolution, but we already see a significant impact across the whole semiconductor ecosystem,” TSMC deputy cochief operating officer Kevin Zhang (張曉強) said at the company’s annual technology symposium in Hsinchu City. “It is fair to say that in the past decade, smartphones and other mobile devices were
US-CHINA SUMMIT: MOFA welcomed US reassurance of no change in its Taiwan policy; Trump said he did not comment when Xi talked of opposing independence US President Donald Trump yesterday said he has not made a decision on whether to move forward with a major arms package for Taiwan after hearing concerns about it from Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平). Trump’s comments on Taiwan came as he flew back to Washington after wrapping up critical talks in which both leaders said important progress was made in stabilizing US-China relations even as deep differences persist between the world’s two biggest powers on Iran and Taiwan. “I will make a determination,” Trump said, adding: “I’ll be making decisions. But, you know, I think the last thing we need right
TAIWAN ISSUE: US treasury secretary Scott Bessent said on the first day of meetings that ‘it wouldn’t be a US-China summit without the Taiwan issue coming up’ There were no surprises on the first day of the summit between US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平), the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday, as the government reiterated that cross-strait stability is crucial to the Asia-Pacific region, as well as the world. As the two presidents met for a highly anticipated summit yesterday, Chinese state media reported that Xi warned Trump that missteps regarding Taiwan could push their two countries into “conflict.” Trump arrived in China with accolades for his host, calling Xi a “great leader” and “friend,” and extending an invitation to visit the White House
SECURITY: Taipei presses the US for arms supplies, saying the arms sales are not only a reflection of the US security commitment to Taiwan but also serve as a mutual deterrent against regional threats Taiwan is committed to preserving the cross-strait “status quo” and contributing to regional peace and stability, the Presidential Office said yesterday. “It is an undeniable fact that the Republic of China is a sovereign and independent democratic nation,” Presidential Office spokeswoman Karen Kuo (郭雅慧) reiterated, adding that Beijing has no right to claim sovereignty over Taiwan. The statements came after US President Donald Trump warned against Taiwanese independence. Trump wrapped up a state visit to Beijing on Friday, during which Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) had pressed him not to support Taiwan. Taiwan depends heavily on US security backing to deter China from carrying
RSS