Taiwan has one of the lowest risks of corruption in its defense and security establishments in the world, a survey on corruption in national defense industries released on Tuesday by Transparency International found.
The anti-corruption watchdog’s Government Defense Integrity Index (GDI) gave Taiwan an overall score of 70 out of 100 and a “B” grade along with seven other countries, including the UK and Germany.
Taiwan and Germany both had an overall score of 70 and shared the No. 6 ranking among the 86 countries surveyed.
New Zealand topped the index with a score of 85 and was the only country surveyed given a top “A” grade.
The overall average of scores determines the strength of a country’s institutional practices and protocols to manage corruption risks in defense institutions, resulting in grades from “A” (low risk/strong institutional controls) to “F” (high risk/weak institutional controls).
Taiwan was the only one among 14 Asian countries to receive a “B” grade in the latest ratings; China had a score of 28, placing it in the “E” band.
Corruption risk is low in Taiwan’s defense sector with well-established and effective parliamentary oversight and sound external scrutiny of financial management, the GDI showed.
Its personnel management processes also contain strong anti-corruption provisions, it said.
However, it added that corruption risk is high for military operations in Taiwan and there remained lingering issues surrounding non-transparent defense procurement.
The Ministry of National Defense (MND) said the ranking indicates that Taiwan’s performance in preventing corruption in the defense sector is on par with that of some of the most advanced world powers.
The GDI is undertaken by Transparency International (Defense and Security) based in the UK. The index is the world’s leading assessment of corruption risks in defense establishments.
The rating is based on a review of 77 indicators within five risk categories covering financial, operational, personnel, political and procurement corruption risks to provide a detailed assessment of the integrity of national defense institutions, the group said.
Transparency International previously released the index in 2013 and 2015, when it was called the Government Defense Anti-Corruption Index, or GI.
Taiwan was given “B” rankings in the 2013 and 2015 surveys.
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