Tomorrow’s establishment of the Institute for National Defense and Security Research is to be matched by cuts to the Taiwan Strategy Research Center’s budget to avoid overlapping spending and operations, a Ministry of National Defense official said.
The ministry is to downsize the center’s operations and expenses in response to lawmakers’ concern that the two organizations have overlapping responsibilities, the official said on condition of anonymity.
The ministry has allocated the institute, which is to be headed by former minister of national defense Feng Shih-kuan (馮世寬) as its president, a budget of NT$125.07 million (US$4.22 million).
However, several lawmakers from across party lines on the Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee voted to freeze 10 percent of the institute’s funding during the review of its budget for the current fiscal year amid concerns that its work appears redundant.
The committee would unlock the money only after the ministry addresses the redundancy issue to its satisfaction, they said.
The center, which is subordinate to the General Staff, employs full-time researchers who publish materials and journals, conduct defense-related research, attend regional security conferences and interact with domestic and foreign think tanks, the official said.
As such tasks are similar to those outlined for the new institute, they would be halted to reduce the overlap, increase budgeting efficiency and avoid controversy, the official said.
Stopping work in those areas would reduce the center’s budget by NT$9.75 million, the official said.
The roles and functions of the center and the institute have been clearly delineated, the official said.
The center, as a ministry-level organization, is to focus on research relevant to military operations, while the institute would be in charge of research in the national defense and security fields, the official said.
The institute’s publications would be made available for legislators and their aides will be invited to accompany institute members when they attend regional security and defense forums, the ministry has said.
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