The Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) does not oppose prioritizing the Executive Yuan’s proposed special defense budget alongside its own version for review after the Lunar New Year holiday, TPP caucus convener Chen Ching-lung (陳清龍) said yesterday.
He added that the party is not seeking to block the Cabinet’s proposal.
TPP deputy convener Wang An-hsiang (王安祥) said the party’s version of the special defense budget was still being worked on and it was “willing to make some adjustments,” should the details of US arms sales change.
Photo: CNA
There is ample room for discussion before the draft act passes the third reading, he said.
Asked whether the TPP would support the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) proposal, Chen declined to comment, adding that the KMT version has yet to be proposed.
KMT Culture and Communications Committee head and Legislator Wu Tsung-hsien (吳宗憲) said the KMT’s version would demand transparency for all US arms procurement contracts.
President William Lai (賴清德) urged the opposition to expedite reviews of the Executive Yuan’s special defense budget in the upcoming legislative session, warning that if the budget fails to pass, Washington might no longer consider Taiwan a priority for US arms provision.
“National defense, so closely tied to national security, sovereignty and our very survival, should be an area where we unite and present a common front to the outside,” Lai told a news conference in Taipei.
Countries such as Japan, South Korea and the Philippines are all boosting defense spending, he said, adding that failure to pass the budget could affect Taiwan’s credibility.
“China’s threat is becoming increasingly serious. Taiwan’s defense budget must be passed smoothly. This represents Taiwan’s resolve, and it also shows that Taiwan is fulfilling its responsibilities as a member of the international community,” he said.
At the same news conference — attended by the heads of the army, navy and air force — Minister of National Defense Wellington Koo (顧立雄) said the government had had intensive talks with the US on what weapons Taiwan needed.
“In the Indo-Pacific region, especially among the countries in the first island chain, Taiwan plays a uniquely critical, almost fated, role,” Koo said, referring to an area that stretches from Japan through Taiwan and into the Philippines. “We do not want Taiwan to become the rupture in the Indo-Pacific collective deterrence posture.”
Shortly after Lai spoke, the Ministry of National Defense said it had detected 11 Chinese military aircraft — including nuclear-capable H-6K bombers — operating to Taiwan’s east and southwest for long-distance training in the Pacific Ocean.
US lawmakers have pushed the legislature to pass the spending plans, and some have criticized the opposition for blocking Lai’s plans and cozying up to Beijing.
Separately, KMT caucus whip Fu Kun-chi (傅?萁) criticized Lai, saying the president was using obfuscatory language to confuse the country.
Lai should state when the NT$700 billion (US$22.24 billion) in military equipment already paid for would be delivered, Fu said.
To say that delays in the budget review would cause Taiwan to drop off the priority list is misleading, as Taiwan has been a priority, as the US put itself, members of the “Five Eyes” Alliance and the EU first, he said.
The president should explain how national defense procurement deals work, as in the past, wallpaper companies, toilet businesses and construction companies won national defense contracts, Fu said.
The KMT will present its own budget proposal, which would ensure funding is used appropriately, he said, adding that whichever budget passes the legislature would not be the Executive Yuan’s version.
Democratic Progressive Party caucus chief executive Chung Chia-pin (鍾佳濱) said he hoped the KMT would place the interests of Taiwan ahead of the party’s.
Additional reporting by Reuters
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