A Ministry of National Defense official yesterday said that completing the long-stalled purchase of a US arms package from the ministry's normal annual budget, instead of a special budget, was unlikely because of the government's constrained finances.
The official, who requested anonymity, was responding to a report in a Chinese-language newspaper, which said that US authorities have suggested that Taiwan can pay for the weapons out of the ministry's annual budget.
"The policy for the special arms budget has never changed. The ministry has not yet received any information from the US suggesting that Taiwan organize the arms bill into its annual budget," the official told the Central News Agency yesterday.
The NT$480 billion (US$15 billion) US arms-procurement budget would pay for Patriot Advanced Capability-3 (PAC-3) missile batteries, 12 P-3C maritime patrol aircraft and eight diesel-powered submarines.
The newspaper reported that because the special arms budget has been blocked by pan-blue legislators, US government and think tank officials suggested to the ministry's Chief of the General Staff General Lee Tien-yu (
The US officials also urged that Taiwan raise its annual defense budget to between 3 percent to 3.5 percent of GDP.
In response, the ministry official agreed that the defense budget had been too low in recent years, accounting for only 2.4 percent of GDP this year. As a result, it would be difficult to pay for the NT$480 billion arms bill from the ministry's annual budget without a significant -- and unlikely -- budget increase.
If the government boosts the defense budget to 3 percent of GDP, it would be able to spend an additional NT$70 billion per year.
According to the newspaper report, a military official said if the government had these additional funds, it could probably purchase the PAC-3 missile batteries and 12 P-3C maritime patrol aircraft from the regular budget, with the costs spread over several years. However, if the price tag for the subs were added in, the total cost would be too high for the annual budget, the official said.
Vice Minister of the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) Chen Ching-tsai (陳慶財) has said that the government will not be able to give the ministry a budget of 3 percent of GDP for the next five years, due to its constrained financial situation.
MILITARY BOOST: The procurement was planned after Washington recommended that Taiwan increase its stock of air defense missiles, a defense official said yesterday Taiwan is planning to order an additional four PAC-3 MSE systems and up to 500 missiles in response to an increasing number of missile sites on China’s east coast, a defense official said yesterday. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that the proposed order would be placed using the defense procurement special budget, adding that about NT$1 trillion (US$32,88 billion) has been allocated for the budget. The proposed acquisition would include launchers, missiles, and a lower tier air and missile defense radar system, they said The procurement was planned after the US military recommended that Taiwan increase
POLITICAL AGENDA: Beijing’s cross-strait Mid-Autumn Festival events are part of a ‘cultural united front’ aimed at promoting unification with Taiwan, academics said Local authorities in China have been inviting Taiwanese to participate in cross-strait Mid-Autumn Festival celebrations centered around ideals of “family and nation,” a move Taiwanese academics said politicizes the holiday to promote the idea of “one family” across the Taiwan Strait. Sources said that China’s Fujian Provincial Government is organizing about 20 cross-strait-themed events in cities including Quanzhou, Nanping, Sanming and Zhangzhou. In Zhangzhou, a festival scheduled for Wednesday is to showcase Minnan-language songs and budaixi (布袋戲) glove puppetry to highlight cultural similarities between Taiwan and the region. Elsewhere, Jiangsu Province is hosting more than 10 similar celebrations in Taizhou, Changzhou, Suzhou,
COGNITIVE WARFARE: Chinese fishing boats transmitting fake identification signals are meant to test Taiwan’s responses to different kinds of perceived incursions, a report said Chinese vessels are transmitting fake signals in Taiwan’s waters as a form of cognitive warfare, testing Taipei’s responses to various types of incursions, a report by the Institute for the Study of War said on Friday. Several Chinese fishing vessels transmitted fake automatic identification system (AIS) signals in Taiwan’s waters last month, with one mimicking a Russian warship and another impersonating a Chinese law enforcement vessel, the report said. Citing data from Starboard Maritime Intelligence, the report said that throughout August and last month, the Chinese fishing boat Minshiyu 06718 (閩獅漁06718) sailed through the Taiwan Strait while intermittently transmitting its own AIS
CHINESE INFILTRATION: Medical logistics is a lifeline during wartime and the reported CCP links of a major logistics company present a national security threat, an expert said The government would bolster its security check system to prevent China from infiltrating the nation’s medical cold chain, a national security official said yesterday. The official, who wished to stay anonymous, made the remarks after the Chinese-language magazine Mirror Media (鏡周刊) reported that Pharma Logistics (嘉里醫藥物流) is in charge of the medical logistics of about half of the nation’s major hospitals, including National Taiwan University Hospital and Taipei Veterans General Hospital. The company’s parent, Kerry TJ Logistics Co (嘉里大榮物流), is associated with the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) and the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA), the
RSS