The Ministry of National Defense (MND) plans to seek up to a record US$33 billion in special funding to upgrade the nation’s defenses against a potential Chinese attack, a senior lawmaker told AFP.
As Beijing ramps up its military pressure, Taiwan over the past few recent years has responded by boosting its defense spending, but Washington, Taipei’s biggest arms supplier, has been pushing it to do more.
The ministry is working on a special budget of between NT$800 billion and NT$1 trillion (US$26.4 billion and US$33.1 billion) over seven years, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Wang Ting-yu (王定宇) said.
Photo: AP
The final amount has not been finalized, as Taiwan is negotiating with the US over potential arms sales that would be included in the special budget, Wang said.
“We want to build a complete defense ecology to defend our country,” Wang said, describing the plans as a “huge” upgrade to the nation’s self-defense capabilities.
Wang said the plans included integrating Taiwan’s air defense systems; acquiring from overseas partners more advanced technology to detect small drones, rockets and missiles, and ensure a rapid response to an attack; and increasing the nation’s capacity to produce and store ammunition for wartime.
“China is developing their fifth-generation fighters and they’re using stealth technology in all kinds of drones or missiles,” said Wang, who sits on the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defence Committee. “So we need more advanced sensor systems, more advanced radar systems — if you cannot detect it, all kinds of fire units are useless.”
Wang’s remarks came as Taiwan seeks to strike a deal with the US to reduce US President Donald Trump’s 20 percent tariff on the nation’s shipments.
Last month, President William Lai’s (賴清德) government announced plans to increase next year’s defense budget to NT$949.5 billion, or more than 3 percent of GDP. It aims to increase spending to 5 percent of GDP by 2030.
Asked if he hoped the special defense budget plans would help Taiwan in the trade negotiations, Wang replied: “Yes.”
If the Cabinet approves the spending plan, it would have to be passed by the opposition-controlled legislature before it can take effect. Wang said he hoped the opposition parties would support the special budget proposal because it was for “our survival.”
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Huang Jen (黃仁), cochair of the Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, said if the budget were submitted to the legislature, the party’s caucus would “definitely discuss it before making a decision.”
“We understand the enemy threat and pressure from the US, but given limited resources, the key is how to spend money effectively,” Huang said.
Su Tzu-yun (蘇紫雲), a research fellow at the state-run Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said Taiwan urgently needed to strengthen its air defenses.
“Beyond the threat of drones, China currently patrols the waters around Taiwan with about eight warships, each carrying roughly 60 vertical launch system cells,” Su said. “These vessels could launch 500-plus cruise missiles, conduct surprise attacks and reach Taiwan’s critical military facilities in approximately three minutes, creating a new missile crisis.”
RESPONSE: The transit sends a message that China’s alignment with other countries would not deter the West from defending freedom of navigation, an academic said Canadian frigate the Ville de Quebec and Australian guided-missile destroyer the Brisbane transited the Taiwan Strait yesterday morning, the first time the two nations have conducted a joint freedom of navigation operation. The Canadian and Australian militaries did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The Ministry of National Defense declined to confirm the passage, saying only that Taiwan’s armed forces had deployed surveillance and reconnaissance assets, along with warships and combat aircraft, to safeguard security across the Strait. The two vessels were observed transiting northward along the eastern side of the Taiwan Strait’s median line, with Japan being their most likely destination,
GLOBAL ISSUE: If China annexes Taiwan, ‘it will not stop its expansion there, as it only becomes stronger and has more force to expand further,’ the president said China’s military and diplomatic expansion is not a sole issue for Taiwan, but one that risks world peace, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday, adding that Taiwan would stand with the alliance of democratic countries to preserve peace through deterrence. Lai made the remark in an exclusive interview with the Chinese-language Liberty Times (sister paper of the Taipei Times). “China is strategically pushing forward to change the international order,” Lai said, adding that China established the Asia Infrastructure Investment Bank, launched the Belt and Road Initiative, and pushed for yuan internationalization, because it wants to replace the democratic rules-based international
RELEASED: Ko emerged from a courthouse before about 700 supporters, describing his year in custody as a period of ‘suffering’ and vowed to ‘not surrender’ Former Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) chairman Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) was released on NT$70 million (US$2.29 million) bail yesterday, bringing an end to his year-long incommunicado detention as he awaits trial on corruption charges. Under the conditions set by the Taipei District Court on Friday, Ko must remain at a registered address, wear a GPS-enabled ankle monitor and is prohibited from leaving the country. He is also barred from contacting codefendants or witnesses. After Ko’s wife, Peggy Chen (陳佩琪), posted bail, Ko was transported from the Taipei Detention Center to the Taipei District Court at 12:20pm, where he was fitted with the tracking
The National Development Council (NDC) yesterday unveiled details of new regulations that ease restrictions on foreigners working or living in Taiwan, as part of a bid to attract skilled workers from abroad. The regulations, which could go into effect in the first quarter of next year, stem from amendments to the Act for the Recruitment and Employment of Foreign Professionals (外國專業人才延攬及僱用法) passed by lawmakers on Aug. 29. Students categorized as “overseas compatriots” would be allowed to stay and work in Taiwan in the two years after their graduation without obtaining additional permits, doing away with the evaluation process that is currently required,
RSS