Failure to complete the signing of an offer on US arms procurement included in the Executive Yuan’s proposed NT$1.25 trillion (US$39.7 billion) special defense budget could raise serious doubts among democratic allies about Taiwan’s commitment to self-defense, Minister of National Defense Wellington Koo (顧立雄) said yesterday.
Speaking at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, Koo added that it would mean that the procurement process would have to be restarted and cause delays in upgrading the military’s combat capabilities.
The Executive Yuan on Nov. 27 approved the NT$1.25 trillion special defense budget plan and forwarded it to the Legislative Yuan for review. However, the opposition-controlled legislature has blocked the proposal from advancing to committee review. On Friday, it blocked the special defense budget for the eighth time.
Photo: Lo Pei-de, Taipei Times
Koo said that if the special budget remains stalled, it would cause the nation’s allies, including the US, “to seriously question Taiwan’s determination to defend itself.”
Whether it is the ministry’s annual budget or the eight-year NT$1.25 trillion special military procurement act, they both aim to address enemy threats and the need for joint defense operational capabilities, he said.
The budgets are crucial for national security, he said, expressing the hope that both the ruling and opposition parties could work together to strengthen Taiwan’s self-defense capabilities.
Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Chen Chun-yu (陳俊宇) asked which weapons would be affected and what the effect on the procurement schedule would be, given that the ministry had previously warned that delays in the budget review could lead to other countries cutting in line for equipment deliveries.”
Department of Strategic Planning Director Lieutenant General Huang Wen-chi (黃文啟) said that 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.
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 another eight months or more, he said.
It took over eight months from the time Taiwan submitted its arms procurement request in March last year to the time the US Congress was notified last month, he said.
In related news, Koo rebutted a report by the Chinese-language United Daily News that the ministry has established a “joint firepower coordination center” with the US for US personnel to oversee the Taiwanese military.
Calling the report false, he said that Taiwan and the US have already institutionalized an exchange mechanism to deepen cooperation in various fields to strengthen the military’s defensive capabilities.
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