President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday said he hoped defense spending would reach 5 percent of GDP before 2030, a day after the Cabinet announced that next year’s proposed defense budget would hit the highest ratio since 2009.
Next year’s defense budget would reach 3.32 percent of GDP, including expenditures for veterans’ affairs and the coast guard, Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) said on Thursday, adding that the new calculation method followed NATO standards.
Taiwan faces calls from Washington to spend more on its own defense, mirroring pressure from the US on Europe.
Photo courtesy of the Presidential Office
Visiting the navy’s 168th Fleet in Yilan County, Lai said that in view of rising threats from China, he hoped “defense spending could reach 5 percent of GDP before 2030, in line with NATO standards.”
“This not only demonstrates our country’s determination to safeguard national security and protect democracy, freedom and human rights,” he said. “It also shows our willingness to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the international community to jointly exert deterrent power and maintain peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region.”
The government would push for cooperation with international allies on weapons research and development as well as production, Lai said, although he did not give details.
Photo courtesy of the Presidential Office
Taiwan will continue to procure weapons for a high-grade military arsenal, including next-generation frigates to replace the old Knox-class frigates, also known as the Chi Yang-class, he added.
The US is Taiwan’s most important international arms supplier, but the nation’s domestic weapons industry has built everything from fighter jets to cruise missiles.
Asked about the omission of pay raises for military personnel from next year’s budget, Lai said that the additional increases approved by the legislature involve constitutional issues and would require a ruling by the Constitutional Court before further decisions could be made.
However, regardless of the outcome, the government would “find a way” to improve military benefits and pay, he added.
On Thursday, the proposed central government budget announced by the Executive Yuan did not include a NT$30,000 monthly allowance for voluntary military service members and higher salaries for those in combat units, as stipulated in amendments to the Pay Act of the Armed Forces (軍人待遇條例) passed in June.
In announcing the decision, Cho said that once the budget is formally submitted, the Executive Yuan would seek a constitutional judgement of the amendment and adjust the budget depending on the outcome.
Lai said that if the measures are found to be constitutionally sound, the government would provide retroactive compensation.
He also said that after taking office, he approved a request from Minister of National Defense Wellington Koo (顧立雄) to increase military personnel’s salaries, which has already been included in this year’s budget.
Additional measures would also continue to support national defense autonomy and industry to bolster the nation’s defense capabilities, he added.
The government would continue to build and improve military housing and camps, upgrade outdated infrastructure and support any further requirements from the armed forces, Lai said.
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