Waiting for the US to issue a letter of acceptance (LOA) to greenlight the budget for arms procurements would leave little time for approval, as the letter is only valid for 45 days, Minister of National Defense Wellington Koo (顧立雄) said today, as the special defense budget enters its fourth round of cross-party negotiations this afternoon.
Taiwan-US arms procurement cases typically involve more than two years of negotiations, after which the US provides formal documents outlining what it is willing to supply, the transaction timeline and pricing details, Koo told reporters prior to a meeting of the Legislative Yuan’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee.
The Ministry of National Defense already gives full confidential briefings on these matters to the legislature, Koo said.
Photo: Tien Yu-hua, Taipei Times
The ministry includes budgetary items for legislative review only after ensuring the US is willing to supply them, he said.
If Washington has not yet notified the US Congress, the budget item remains classified and would only be made public after Congress is notified, he added.
Requiring LOAs from the US before reviewing the budget would create major practical issues, as these documents are typically valid for only 45 days, leaving little time to pass the appropriate budget without prior groundwork, Koo said.
For example, in a previous High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) procurement case, the LOA could not be signed, as the necessary budget authorization had not yet been completed by the Legislative Yuan, he said.
If budgets and procurement items are not properly reviewed in advance, but are instead rushed through only after an LOA arrives, it would effectively amount to a “blank check,” the minister said, utilizing the same terminology the opposition has been using in its opposition to approving all of the Cabinet’s proposed NT$1.25 trillion (US$39.71 billion) special defense budget.
Asked about Ukraine’s experience fighting Russia, Koo said that Ukraine has proven that building up indigenous drone capabilities is key to maintaining combat capability and resilience, which is why a significant number of drones have been included in the special budget.
During the committee hearing, Department of Strategic Planning Director Lieutenant General Huang Wen-chi (黃文啓) said that Washington has clearly stated it would cancel the HIMARS sale if Taiwan fails to make the initial payment by May 31.
On March 13, the Legislative Yuan passed a resolution authorizing the ministry to sign LOAs for four US arms procurement projects, including the HIMARS, before the relevant special budget is passed.
If the deal is canceled, the military would have to restart the entire procurement process from scratch, Huang said, adding that it would take at least a year.
While LOAs have been signed for three other arms purchases, the US has not yet set a schedule for contract negotiations, Huang said.
Meanwhile, ahead of cross-party negotiations on the defense budget this afternoon, Legislative Speaker Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜) reportedly met with Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文) this morning to achieve a consensus on the party’s proposal.
The KMT caucus remains internally divided over whether to propose a budget cap of NT$380 billion “+N” or a flat NT$800 billion, with the “+N” providing for negotiating procurements as announced.
Additional reporting by Liu Wan-lin
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