The Executive Yuan has increased the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ budget for next year to about NT$26.5 billion (US$878.59 million), the highest since 2013, although lawmakers must still approve the increase.
The proposed budget is a 9 percent increase over this year’s NT$24.3 billion budget.
During former president Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) administration, the ministry’s budgets gradually decreased, from about NT$31.4 billion in 2009 to NT$25.58 billion in 2013, to a low of NT$22.17 billion in 2014.
The proposed increase follows a tough year diplomatically in the wake of President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) taking office: cross-strait relations have become strained, Sao Tome and Principe cut ties with Taiwan in December last year, followed by Panama’s switching of diplomatic recognition from Taipei to Beijing in June.
Beijing has also blocked Taiwan from participating in conferences or annual assemblies held by the International Civil Aviation Organization, the International Police Organization and the World Health Assembly.
China has taken more diversified measures to suppress the nation’s participation in international affairs, the ministry said.
Tsai’s administration has refused to engage in “dollar diplomacy” against China, but “how could the nation play the game with so few pennies in hand,” a government official said on condition of anonymity.
High-ranking officials support an increase in the ministry’s budget increase, sources said.
Former minister of foreign affairs Chen Chien-jen (程建人) said the proposed increase was the “correct direction” and should be continued in following years, adding that the budget for foreign affairs should at least account for 2 percent of the government’s overall budget.
However, the government should employ its foreign affairs resources carefully by analyzing the needs of different nations, he added.
To distinguish Taiwan from China, the government should allocate its foreign affairs budget to diverse causes, such as technical expert groups, civil group services and scholarship provisions, said Lin Wen-cheng (林文程), director of the Institute of China and Asia-Pacific Studies at National Sun Yat-sen University.
As the Chinese Communist Party is to hold its 19th National Congress later this year, authorities expect China to focus on organizing its internal forces, instead of making troubles overseas, a national security official who declined to be named said.
While some political analysts have said that Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) “knows Taiwan well” and would show more flexibility in dealing with Taiwan, the national security official was more pessimistic, saying it is uncertain whether Taiwan can maintain its 20 diplomatic allies.
However, the government has “made preparations for the worst situation,” the official added.
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