Delays in signing the US’ arms procurement offer could force the government to restart the eight-month procurement process, slowing military upgrades and raising doubts among allies about Taiwan’s commitment to self-defense, the Ministry of National Defense (MND) said today.
The Legislative Yuan’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee met today, calling Minister of National Defense Wellington Koo (顧立雄) and other defense officials to present on weapon procurements and consequences of delaying review of the NT$1.25 trillion (US$39.68 billion) special defense budget.
As military funding first goes to ongoing projects, the standard budget is not enough to cover new projects necessary to quickly boost combat capabilities, Department of Strategic Planning Director Lieutenant General Huang Wen-chi (黃文啓) said in response to questions about why the special defense budget was not included in the general budget.
Photo: Huang Ching-hsuan, Taipei Times
In addition, weapons take time to be produced and delivered after funding is allocated, so equipment would not arrive fast enough to solve urgent needs, Huang said.
Countries globally are increasing their defense budgets and would be buying large amounts of military equipment in the coming years, many of which overlap with Taiwan’s needs, he said.
As there is growing competition for the same resources, Taiwan needs to secure the asymmetric defense equipment it needs as soon as possible, he added.
As more than 30 days have passed since Washington notified the US Congress, Taiwan should receive the military procurement pricing offer soon, Huang said.
Taiwan would then have 45 days to process and sign the letter, which could theoretically be extended once, he said.
If Taiwan does not process the pricing letter in time and the US does not agree to extend its offer, Taiwan would have to go through the entire process again, which could take more than eight months, he said.
Taiwan submitted its arms procurement request in March last year, so the process has already taken more than eight months, he added.
Delays in signing the pricing letter could stall Taiwan’s military upgrades and make the US and democratic allies question its commitment to self-defense, Koo said.
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