The armed forces have response protocols for a wide range of sudden contingencies, including the “Wan Chun Plan” to protect the head of state, the Ministry of National Defense said yesterday.
After US President Donald Trump on Saturday launched a series of airstrikes in Venezuela and kidnapped deposed Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro, concerns have been raised as to whether China would launch a similar “decapitation strike” on Taiwan.
The armed forces regularly coordinate with government agencies and practice drills to ensure preparedness for a wide range of scenarios, Vice Minister of National Defense Hsu Szu-chien (徐斯儉) told reporters before a meeting at the legislature in Taipei.
Photo: CNA
However, the upheaval in Venezuela has demonstrated the importance of preparedness and ensuring weapons are regularly upgraded and maintained, he said.
At the legislative committee meeting on this year’s defense budget, Hsu told lawmakers that Venezuela’s weapons, obtained from China and Russia, proved to be far inferior to US weapons.
The issue was not only the origin of the weapons, but that they had been poorly maintained, Hsu said.
“If the enemy is advancing, we must also advance,” he said.
Hsu said that the ministry’s general budget for this fiscal year is set at NT$561.4 billion (US$17.8 billion), an increase of NT$87.5 billion compared with the last fiscal year.
If the total budget is not approved by the legislature during the current session, NT$78 billion of the budget would be affected, he said, adding that systems such as the “long-range precision strike system” and the “Harpoon missile coastal defense system” would be impacted.
Excluding expenses for the maintenance of personnel and legal obligations, 21 percent of the budget would be unable to be executed according to the original schedule, making it difficult to complete equipment procurement, repairs, and adequate replenishment of fuel and ammunition this year, he added.
Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Wu Ping-jui (吳秉叡) said that the opposition’s continued blocking of a proposed NT$1.25 trillion special defense budget bill would impact national security.
The Chinese Communist Party last week conducted “Justice Mission 2025” drills around Taiwan, seriously undermining peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region, the ministry said.
As China’s military moves toward acquiring the capability to invade Taiwan and enemy threats continue to mount, time has become the most important resource in defense operations, it said.
Each day that the defense budget is delayed consumes precious preparation time, it added.
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