The Executive Yuan yesterday finalized a special budget request of NT$247.2 billion (US$8.12 billion) to procure 66 F-16V jets from the US.
The request comes on the heels of the Special Act on the Procurement of Updated Fighter Jets (新式戰機採購特別條例) passed by the Legislative Yuan on Tuesday, which capped the budget at NT$250 billion.
The requested amount includes the cost of the jets, their avionics, other software and hardware, and research and development (R&D) costs, which total about NT$246.7 billion, while on-site technological advisory, training and transportation costs take up the remaining NT$500 million, the budget request shows.
The request seeks funding over six fiscal years from next year through 2026, when the nation expects to have received all of the warplanes.
Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics official Lee Kuo-hsing (李國興) said that NT$232.2 billion would be sourced through loans, while NT$15 billion would be drawn from surplus revenue.
Government debt would not exceed the amount it is allowed to borrow — 40.6 percent of the average GDP of the previous three fiscal years, Lee said.
The addition to the national debt would be about NT$700 billion after factoring in the costs of the F-16Vs and the remainder of the Forward-looking Infrastructure Development Program, Lee said.
The overall national debt is at 31.5 percent of average GDP for the past three fiscal years, so there is allowance for 9.1 percent more, or NT$1.6 trillion, he said.
Asked by reporters why the unit price of the F-16V is higher than what the US quoted other nations for the F-35, which Taipei initially expressed interest in purchasing, Deputy Minister of National Defense Chang Guan-chung (張冠群) said that the comparison was “unfair,” as the quote for the F-35 did not include R&D costs, estimated at about US$53 billion.
The F-35 unit price cited by media reports was for nations that participated in R&D of those planes, while the price for Taiwan’s F-16Vs includes such costs, which makes a huge difference, Chang said.
If other nations were to acquire F-16Vs, they would also face R&D costs, he said.
Thanks to the efforts of President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文), the nation has secured Washington’s consent to buy the upgraded fighter jets based on the US’ Taiwan Relations Act and the “six assurances,” Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) told a weekly Cabinet meeting.
This shows that Taiwan plays an important role in Washington’s Indo-Pacific strategy and can help maintain peace in the Taiwan Strait and the Indo-Pacific region, Su said.
The Ministry of Economic Affairs and the Ministry of National Defense should seek technological transfer agreements from the US, Su said.
The procurement package would not only bolster the nation’s defense capabilities, but also bring opportunities to engage in industrial collaborations with the US, he said.
He asked lawmakers across party lines to support the budget proposal.
Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) was sentenced to six months in prison, commutable to a fine, by the New Taipei District Court today for contravening the Personal Data Protection Act (個人資料保護法) in a case linked to an alleged draft-dodging scheme. Wang allegedly paid NT$3.6 million (US$114,380) to an illegal group to help him evade mandatory military service through falsified medical documents, prosecutors said. He transferred the funds to Chen Chih-ming (陳志明), the alleged mastermind of a draft-evasion ring, although he lost contact with him as he was already in detention on fraud charges, they said. Chen is accused of helping a
SECURITY: Starlink owner Elon Musk has taken pro-Beijing positions, and allowing pro-China companies to control Taiwan’s critical infrastructure is risky, a legislator said Starlink was reluctant to offer services in Taiwan because of the nation’s extremely high penetration rates in 4G and 5G services, the Ministry of Digital Affairs said yesterday. The ministry made the comments at a meeting of the legislature’s Transportation Committee, which reviewed amendments to Article 36 of the Telecommunications Management Act (電信管理法). Article 36 bans foreigners from holding more than 49 percent of shares in public telecommunications networks, while shares foreigners directly and indirectly hold are also capped at 60 percent of the total, unless specified otherwise by law. The amendments, sponsored by Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Ko
UNREASONABLE SURVEILLANCE: A camera targeted on an road by a neighbor captured a man’s habitual unsignaled turn into home, netting him dozens of tickets The Taichung High Administrative Court has canceled all 45 tickets given to a man for failing to use a turn signal while driving, as it considered long-term surveillance of his privacy more problematic than the traffic violations. The man, surnamed Tseng (曾), lives in Changhua County and was reported 45 times within a month for failing to signal while driving when he turned into the alley where his residence is. The reports were filed by his neighbor, who set up security cameras that constantly monitored not only the alley but also the door and yard of Tseng’s house. The surveillance occurred from July
‘SAME OLD TRICK’: Even if Beijing resumes individual travel to Taiwan, it would only benefit Chinese tourism companies, the Economic Democracy Union convener said China’s 10 new “incentives” are “sugar-coated poison,” an official said yesterday, adding that Taiwanese businesses see them clearly for what they are, but that Beijing would inevitably find some local collaborators to try to drums up support. The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, made the remark ahead of a news conference the General Chamber of Commerce is to hold today. The event, titled “Industry Perspectives on China’s Recent Pro-Taiwan Policies,” is expected to include representatives from industry associations — such as those in travel, hotels, food and agriculture — to request the government cooperate with China’s new measures, people familiar with
RSS