After 37 US lawmakers wrote to express concern over legislators’ stalling of critical budgets, Legislative Speaker Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜) pledged to make the Executive Yuan’s proposed NT$1.25 trillion (US$39.7 billion) special defense budget a top priority for legislative review. On Tuesday, it was finally listed on the legislator’s plenary agenda for Friday next week.
The special defense budget was proposed by President William Lai’s (賴清德) administration in November last year to enhance the nation’s defense capabilities against external threats from China. However, the legislature, dominated by the opposition Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Taiwan People’s Party (TPP), repeatedly blocked its review.
The opposition’s unprecedented obstruction has triggered domestic and international concerns over Taiwan’s security.
The letter by the 37 US lawmakers — addressed to senior Taiwanese politicians, including Han, and all the heads and caucus whips of the opposition and ruling parties — stated that the threat posed by China against Taiwan has never been greater, and while the US must address the massive backlog in weapons deliveries, Taipei also needs to step up its military readiness.
“Without significant increases in Taiwan’s defense spending at levels reflected in President Lai’s proposed special budget, this progress will be insufficient,” the letter said.
After more than three months of the opposition blocking the budget review, Han and Deputy Legislative Speaker Johnny Chiang (江啟臣) finally stepped up to the plate, urging the legislative caucuses to reach a consensus to send the Executive Yuan’s proposed bill for committee review and list it on the plenary agenda.
At a KMT legislative seminar on the same day, Han recounted how Qing Dynasty eunuchs would suffocate a person to death by putting a piece of wet paper over the person’s nose and mouth. Han said that “if the special arms procurement bill could be referred to committee review, it would be like removing the wet paper over the nose and mouth [of the KMT],” implying that the party had misjudged the public reaction and been besieged on all sides for blocking the budget’s review.
With like-minded countries taking more responsibility for their own defense by bolstering defense spending, the opposition parties’ blocking of Taiwan’s defense bills has caused international allies, especially the US, to doubt their willingness to defend the nation.
As a recent survey by Taiwan Public Opinion Foundation showed, the majority of Taiwanese see the KMT as a party identifying with China more than with Taiwan and unworthy of public trust. Its consistent obstruction of defense budgets could further “suffocate” the public’s trust in it.
Although the opposition finally gave a little ground, the Executive Yuan’s special defense bill would be reviewed alongside the TPP’s NT$400 billion version. The KMT also announced that it would submit its own proposal to be reviewed together with the other two versions.
However, the two opposition parties’ proposals appear to be impromptu efforts focused more on budget cuts than real defense needs.
The TPP’s version slashed the budget by eliminating several crucial weapon systems, and the reductions have been widely criticized as lacking in defense expertise and impractical.
It excluded the C5ISR command and control system, and ruled out equipment items such as ammunition depots, shelters and personnel training. The Ministry of National Defense has warned that their eliminations would create difficulties for the command, operation, storage and maintenance of valuable weapon systems.
TPP also removed the section of “non-red supply chain” from weapon procurement, going against the budget’s goal to support the domestic defense industry and achieve self-sufficiency.
The KMT’s version is yet to be finalized, as the party is divided on the bill’s content. While some younger KMT legislators have suggested that the proposed budget would be more than NT$810 billion, KMT Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文) has said that major bills should be decided by party headquarters, which reportedly aims to cap the budget at NT$350 billion.
Given Cheng’s team’s intensifying interactions with the Chinese Communist Party and Cheng’s planned meeting with the Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平), there are growing concerns that the KMT would pander to Xi’s objections against US arms sales to Taiwan, in exchange for a Xi-Cheng meeting.
National defense must be pragmatic, and budgets must be based on professional assessments. The legislators’ upcoming deliberation on the special defense budget should focus on practical defense needs, not just on bargaining. Otherwise, it would be like putting another “wet paper” hindering Taiwan’s stability and security.
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