Taiwan’s military leaders have launched a behind-the-scenes push for a NT$400 billion (US$13.34 billion) defense budget next year due to China’s increased military intimidation, a high-ranking official said yesterday.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, the official said that lawmakers had trimmed this year’s military budget from a proposed NT$372.6 billion to NT$367.6 billion before a surge in Chinese activity drove up the military’s operational costs.
Defense spending on fuel, maintenance and replacement parts has skyrocketed due to the numerous missions to intercept Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) aircraft and ships, they said, adding that reserve funds have been activated multiple times this year.
Photo courtesy of the Ministry of National Defense
Last month, the Executive Yuan indicated its intent to boost the defense budget — which averaged 3 precent of GDP over the past five years — to 4.09 percent next year, which would add more than NT$15 billion to national defense, the official said.
Military leaders deem even this sum to be inadequate to meet the country’s need to augment its forces, as China’s drills now constitute a direct threat to national security, the source said.
The leaders believe that Taiwan should adopt emergency combat preparedness measures, a term encompassing accelerated arms procurement and other actions, the official said.
Photo: Ann Wang, Reuters
In 1996, then-president Lee Teng-hui (李登輝) ordered the implementation of the measures in response to the Third Taiwan Strait Crisis, they said.
The measures included medium-range surface-to-air missiles being converted into short-range surface-to-surface missiles and then rapidly deployed, and lease-then-buy deals for US-made electronic equipment and arms, they said.
Proponents of the combat preparedness measures believe the government must raise at least NT$400 billion for the military to implement them today with reasonable confidence of success, the official said.
The Ministry of National Defense is to submit its assessment of the China threat and the military’s current and future needs to the legislature with the Cabinet’s general budget proposal.
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