Next year's budget request submitted by the Ministry of Defense (MND) to the Legislature yesterday officially revealed for the first time that the nation is acquiring the Hsiung Feng 3, (雄風三型) or Brave Wind 3 anti-ship missile.
In addition,the MND's Missile Command's increasing expenditure is being seen as an important indicator that large numbers of cruise missile,code-named Hsiung Feng-IIE ,will start production and deployment next year.
Although the defense budget has reached 3 percent of Taiwan's GDP, the military still complains of a lack of money in a report on the five year plan to overhaul the armed forces submitted to the legislature.
The report states that the defense budget still shows a shortfall of NT$153.5 billion (US$4.64 billion) for the period between next year and 2013.
A report by the ministry on China's military strength said that Taiwan's growing democratic awareness and increasing pro-localization stance has meant that China has followed Chinese President Hu Jintao's (
The report stated that although China's official defense budget is US$44.9 billion, the actual figure is closer to US$85 billion to US$125 billion, making Chinese military expenditure second only to that of the US.
Taiwan's military overhaul means there are plans to acquire a satellite information gathering and communication jamming systems next year and to complete studies of a low flying anti-tactical ballistic missile system this year, the report said.
Next year, the navy will begin purchases of submarine launched anti-ship missiles and develop remote-controlled mines, while the army will purchase a new type of helicopter, it said, adding that Japan will become a new focus in the country's military exchanges.
CHIPMAKING INVESTMENT: J.W. Kuo told legislators that Department of Investment Review approval would be needed were Washington to seek a TSMC board seat Minister of Economic Affairs J.W. Kuo (郭智輝) yesterday said he received information about a possible US government investment in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) and an assessment of the possible effect on the firm requires further discussion. If the US were to invest in TSMC, the plan would need to be reviewed by the Department of Investment Review, Kuo told reporters ahead of a hearing of the legislature’s Economics Committee. Kuo’s remarks came after US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick on Tuesday said that the US government is looking into the federal government taking equity stakes in computer chip manufacturers that
NORTHERN STRIKE: Taiwanese military personnel have been training ‘in strategic and tactical battle operations’ in Michigan, a former US diplomat said More than 500 Taiwanese troops participated in this year’s Northern Strike military exercise held at Lake Michigan by the US, a Pentagon-run news outlet reported yesterday. The Michigan National Guard-sponsored drill involved 7,500 military personnel from 36 nations and territories around the world, the Stars and Stripes said. This year’s edition of Northern Strike, which concluded on Sunday, simulated a war in the Indo-Pacific region in a departure from its traditional European focus, it said. The change indicated a greater shift in the US armed forces’ attention to a potential conflict in Asia, it added. Citing a briefing by a Michigan National Guard senior
POWER PLANT POLL: The TPP said the number of ‘yes’ votes showed that the energy policy should be corrected, and the KMT said the result was a win for the people’s voice The government does not rule out advanced nuclear energy generation if it meets the government’s three prerequisites, President William Lai (賴清德) said last night after the number of votes in favor of restarting a nuclear power plant outnumbered the “no” votes in a referendum yesterday. The referendum failed to pass, despite getting more “yes” votes, as the Referendum Act (公民投票法) states that the vote would only pass if the votes in favor account for more than one-fourth of the total number of eligible voters and outnumber the opposing votes. Yesterday’s referendum question was: “Do you agree that the Ma-anshan Nuclear Power Plant
ENHANCED SECURITY: A Japanese report said that the MOU is about the sharing of information on foreign nationals entering Japan from Taiwan in the event of an emergency The Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday confirmed that Taiwan and Japan had signed an agreement to promote information exchanges and cooperation on border management, although it did not disclose more details on the pact. Ministry spokesman Hsiao Kuang-wei (蕭光偉) said the ministry is happy to see that the two nations continue to enhance cooperation on immigration control, in particular because Taiwan and Japan “share a deep friendship and frequent people-to-people exchanges.” “Last year, more than 7.32 million visits were made between the two countries, making it even more crucial for both sides to work closer on immigration and border control,” he said. Hsiao
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