The Ministry of National Defense (MND) today delivered its Quadrennial Defense Review (QDR) to lawmakers, highlighting the nation’s defense strategy and elaborating on the role of US military cooperation.
As per Article 31 of the National Defense Act (國防法), the ministry must publicly submit the QDR to the Legislative Yuan within 10 months of a presidential inauguration.
The Legislative Yuan’s Foreign and National Defense Committee invited Minister of National Defense Wellington Koo (顧立雄) to deliver the review and answer questions from lawmakers.
Photo: Fang Pin-chao, Taipei Times
The previous QDR in 2021 focused on strong defenses and multi-layered deterrence, which remained unchanged in this iteration.
The strategy would take advantage of Taiwan’s terrain to develop military preparation around the principles of “adaptability, agility, lethality, cost-effectiveness and stealth,” the latest QDR said.
The nation would build combat capability across land, sea and air, in addition to cyber, to deter aggression, the QDR said.
In wartime, the ministry would rapidly mobilize, enact multiple layers of defense and lean on military-civilian integration to delay enemy actions, weaken any invading forces and force a retreat, it said.
Future budget increases would focus on enhancing asymmetric capabilities and strengthening counters to “gray zone” threats, the QDR said.
To bring the total defense budget to President William Lai’s (賴清德) target of more than 3 percent of GDP, the MND would prioritize a special defense budget, it added.
Unlike the previous QDR in 2021, the latest review included a separate chapter dedicated to “linking regionally to strengthen collective deterrence,” with the chapter’s first section dedicated to “deepening military exchanges between Taiwan and the US.”
The US is an important strategic partner, engages in close military exchanges and assists the nation in developing its self-defense capabilities, it said.
The ministry would continue to promote strategic cooperation with the US to maintain peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait, it added.
As for future cooperation plans, the ministry would expand and deepen cooperation in strategic national security dialogues and visits, joint military exercises, defense industry cooperation and intelligence sharing, it said.
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