The government is planning a special budget, estimated at up to NT$500 billion (US$16.5 billion), for military purchases from the US, a high-level government official said yesterday on condition of anonymity.
The planned special budget would be in addition to a draft special act aimed at bolstering economic, national security and social resilience, they added, referring to Executive Yuan spokeswoman Michelle Lee’s (李慧芝) call on Wednesday for the Legislative Yuan to support the Cabinet-proposed special act, which has set aside NT$150 billion to bolster national defense resilience. The NT$150 billion is part of the NT$410 billion that the Executive Yuan proposed on April 24 in response to ramped-up US tariffs.
The Ministry of National Defense (MND) is still in talks with the Executive Yuan on the budget amount and in talks with the US on what equipment to purchase, and the actual budget amount has not been set, the official said.
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The ministry is looking at about NT$300 billion to NT$500 billion, which would be over five years, they said, adding that the budget plan would be delivered to the Legislative Yuan before the next legislative session.
The special budget amount was set to meet the goal of increasing annual defense spending to 3 percent of GDP, they added.
For this fiscal year, the Cabinet had earmarked NT$647 billion for national defense, amounting to 2.45 percent of GDP.
President William Lai (賴清德) has pledged to propose a special budget to raise defense spending to more than 3 percent of GDP.
In March, then-US undersecretary of defense for policy nominee Elbridge Colby during a confirmation hearing at the US Senate Committee on Armed Services said Taipei should raise defense spending closer to 10 percent of GDP.
The official remained tight-lipped regarding what kind of equipment would be purchased with the special budget — such as E-2D Hawkeye aircraft — adding that the details would be made known when it is finalized.
Regarding the NT$150 billion from the proposed NT$410 billion for bolstering national defense resilience, Lee has said the Executive Yuan hopes to use it to increase budgets for the Coast Guard Administration to build new ships capable of conducting patrolling duties during inclement weather and reinforce the coast guard’s capabilities in countering China’s “gray zone” tactics.
Uncrewed aerial vehicles of different types are to be acquired under the budget to bolster patrolling capabilities in the littoral regions and up to 24 nautical miles (44.4km) from the coast, she said.
The budget would also fund the establishment of a collaborative platform for the military to consolidate information from multiple sources, providing improved and encrypted communications in real-time with units, she said.
The budget would also fund the building of data centers for data redundancy that would allow core military functions to continue operations in times of emergency, Lee said, adding that the budget would also fund efforts to ensure the stable operations of servers, systems and services.
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