The Ministry of National Defense is talking with the US about using the appropriation authority granted to the US president to send a US$500 million arms package to Taiwan, Minister of National Defense Chiu Kuo-cheng (邱國正) said yesterday.
The arms package is being offered by the US government to “compensate for defense loopholes created by delays in the delivery of weapons that Taiwan has procured,” Chiu told a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign and National Defense Committee in Taipei.
“Once such a package is approved, the US and Taiwan would double-check weapons that have been procured by Taiwan, but have yet to be delivered. The US government could then start delivering some of the weapons that they have at the moment or alternatives to meet the demands of Taiwan,” Chiu said.
Photo: Chu Pei-hsiung, Taipei Times
“The cost of this additional arms package would not be deducted from the military procurement spending that was already approved by the legislature,” he said.
Reuters reported on Friday last week that the US Congress, as a part of its budget, authorized up to US$1 billion of weapons aid for Taiwan using the Presidential Drawdown Authority, a rapid response tool that allows the US government to provide emergency military assistance to allies and partners in crisis.
Chiu also said that the ministry is still deliberating whether the military trial system should be reinstated after high-ranking military personnel were involved in a series of espionage cases.
Lawmakers across party lines have called for the reinstatement of the system to restore military discipline.
There are advantages and disadvantages to hearing military cases in civilian courts, Chiu said.
“Compared with military courts, trials in civilian courts would proceed in a fairer manner. However, lawsuits in civilian courts tend to take longer than those in a military court. The legal process is so long that military personnel might still be waiting for the verdicts even after they have already been discharged from the military. Restoring the military trial system is not something that can be done instantly and we are still reviewing the feasibility of the proposal,” he said.
In a written report to the Legislative Yuan, the ministry said it would propose an amendment to the Military Trial Act (軍審法) “when the public has reached a consensus on reinstating the military trial system.”
However, as punishment of some military cases handed down by civilian courts were too lenient it has hurt discipline and the morale of troops, the ministry said in the report that it would advise prosecutors that they need to take into account the actions of individuals that contravene military ethical codes or disrupt military discipline.
The Military Trial Act, although not abolished, has not been enforced since 2013 after the legislature passed an amendment that transfered non-wartime crimes committed by active service members to prosecutors’ offices and civilian courts. Military prosecutors and military courts of all levels have since then been shut down.
The proposal to transfer military cases to civilian courts was made after former army corporal Hung Chung-chiu (洪仲丘) died of heat stroke two days before he was to be discharged from the military in 2013.
While the military concluded in its investigation that Hung died because of improper training, more than 100,000 people took part in protests to appeal for transparency in military cases.
In response to queries about comments by US Representative Seth Moulton that China should know that the US government would bomb Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (台積電) plants and destroy them if China were to invade Taiwan, Chiu said: “It would be the military’s responsibility to defend our territory, people or military resources. We would not tolerate any country bombing our facilities or invading our airspace.”
CALL FOR SUPPORT: President William Lai called on lawmakers across party lines to ensure the livelihood of Taiwanese and that national security is protected President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday called for bipartisan support for Taiwan’s investment in self-defense capabilities at the christening and launch of two coast guard vessels at CSBC Corp, Taiwan’s (台灣國際造船) shipyard in Kaohsiung. The Taipei (台北) is the fourth and final ship of the Chiayi-class offshore patrol vessels, and the Siraya (西拉雅) is the Coast Guard Administration’s (CGA) first-ever ocean patrol vessel, the government said. The Taipei is the fourth and final ship of the Chiayi-class offshore patrol vessels with a displacement of about 4,000 tonnes, Lai said. This ship class was ordered as a result of former president Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) 2018
UKRAINE, NVIDIA: The US leader said the subject of Russia’s war had come up ‘very strongly,’ while Jenson Huang was hoping that the conversation was good Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) and US President Donald Trump had differing takes following their meeting in Busan, South Korea, yesterday. Xi said that the two sides should complete follow-up work as soon as possible to deliver tangible results that would provide “peace of mind” to China, the US and the rest of the world, while Trump hailed the “great success” of the talks. The two discussed trade, including a deal to reduce tariffs slapped on China for its role in the fentanyl trade, as well as cooperation in ending the war in Ukraine, among other issues, but they did not mention
HOTEL HIRING: An official said that hoteliers could begin hiring migrant workers next year, but must adhere to a rule requiring a NT$2,000 salary hike for Taiwanese The government is to allow the hospitality industry to recruit mid-level migrant workers for housekeeping and three other lines of work after the Executive Yuan yesterday approved a proposal by the Ministry of Labor. A shortage of workers at hotels and accommodation facilities was discussed at a meeting of the legislature’s Transportation Committee. A 2023 survey conducted by the Tourism Administration found that Taiwan’s lodging industry was short of about 6,600 housekeeping and cleaning workers, the agency said in a report to the committee. The shortage of workers in the industry is being studied, the report said. Hotel and Lodging Division Deputy Director Cheng
‘SECRETS’: While saying China would not attack during his presidency, Donald Trump declined to say how Washington would respond if Beijing were to take military action US President Donald Trump said that China would not take military action against Taiwan while he is president, as the Chinese leaders “know the consequences.” Trump made the statement during an interview on CBS’ 60 Minutes program that aired on Sunday, a few days after his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) in South Korea. “He [Xi] has openly said, and his people have openly said at meetings, ‘we would never do anything while President Trump is president,’ because they know the consequences,” Trump said in the interview. However, he repeatedly declined to say exactly how Washington would respond in
RSS