National defense spending in the government’s annual budget for next year stands at 2.34 percent of projected GDP, its lowest share since President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) took office in May 2008.
Under the draft budget proposal the Cabinet approved earlier this week, NT$312.3 billion (US$10.41 billion) is to be set aside for defense, an increase of NT$8 billion, or 2.7 percent, over this year, in stark contrast to the estimated double-digit growth in China’s defense budget in recent years.
In the draft budget, NT$441.6 billion is earmarked for social welfare projects, taking up the largest share of the projected expenditure of NT$1.959 trillion and accounting for 22.5 percent of total spending, followed by NT$385.6 billion in scientific, educational and cultural spending, or 19.7 percent.
Defense spending came in third, accounting for 15.9 percent of the projected expenditure.
In terms of GDP share, Ma’s administration has failed since 2011 to honor the president’s campaign promise to invest no less than 3 percent of GDP in national defense.
The percentage fell from 3.05 percent in the draft budget for the fiscal year of 2009 to 3 percent in 2010, 2.67 percent in 2011, 2.68 percent in 2012, 2.71 last year, 2.54 percent this year and 2.34 percent next year, an examination of the government’s draft budget statements showed.
Final-account reports for the years from 2009 to last year showed that the government’s actual defense spending each year failed to meet the 3 percent of GDP threshold, meaning that Ma’s pledge has not been fulfilled.
Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Tsai Huang-liang (蔡煌瑯) said that the administration’s failure to budget 3 percent of GDP for national defense is aimed at pleasing Beijing.
In the face of China’s consistently surging defense spending, the Ma administration has weakened the nation’s military capabilities, Tsai said.
What Ma’s administration has been doing is disarming the nation, limiting its self-defense capabilities, he said.
Since the military balance between Taiwan and China has tipped heavily in China’s favor, the threat to national security is a matter of grave concern, Tsai said.
The limited increase in the defense budget could further complicate the problem of insufficient recruitment of volunteer soldiers next year, he added.
Three Taiwanese airlines have prohibited passengers from packing Bluetooth earbuds and their charger cases in checked luggage. EVA Air and Uni Air said that Bluetooth earbuds and charger cases are categorized as portable electronic devices, which should be switched off if they are placed in checked luggage based on international aviation safety regulations. They must not be in standby or sleep mode. However, as charging would continue when earbuds are placed in the charger cases, which would contravene international aviation regulations, their cases must be carried as hand luggage, they said. Tigerair Taiwan said that earbud charger cases are equipped
Foreign travelers entering Taiwan on a short layover via Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport are receiving NT$600 gift vouchers from yesterday, the Tourism Administration said, adding that it hopes the incentive would boost tourism consumption at the airport. The program, which allows travelers holding non-Taiwan passports who enter the country during a layover of up to 24 hours to claim a voucher, aims to promote attractions at the airport, the agency said in a statement on Friday. To participate, travelers must sign up on the campaign Web site, the agency said. They can then present their passport and boarding pass for their connecting international
UNILATERAL MOVES: Officials have raised concerns that Beijing could try to exert economic control over Kinmen in a key development plan next year The Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) yesterday said that China has so far failed to provide any information about a new airport expected to open next year that is less than 10km from a Taiwanese airport, raising flight safety concerns. Xiamen Xiangan International Airport is only about 3km at its closest point from the islands in Kinmen County — the scene of on-off fighting during the Cold War — and construction work can be seen and heard clearly from the Taiwan side. In a written statement sent to Reuters, the CAA said that airports close to each other need detailed advanced
Tropical Storm Fung-Wong would likely strengthen into a typhoon later today as it continues moving westward across the Pacific before heading in Taiwan’s direction next week, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. As of 8am, Fung-Wong was about 2,190km east-southeast of Cape Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, moving westward at 25kph and possibly accelerating to 31kph, CWA data showed. The tropical storm is currently over waters east of the Philippines and still far from Taiwan, CWA forecaster Tseng Chao-cheng (曾昭誠) said, adding that it could likely strengthen into a typhoon later in the day. It is forecast to reach the South China Sea
RSS