The Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) has a rational, pragmatic and scientific approach for reviewing defense budgets and would “not oppose just for the sake of opposition,” TPP Chairman Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌) said yesterday at a defense forum.
The forum, called “From Military Procurement to Combat Capability: A Review of Defense Policy and Oversight Mechanisms,” was hosted by the party and attended by military analysts including former captain Huang Cheng-hui (黃征輝) and former defense official Lu Te-yun (盧德允).
The party has consistently supported enhancing national defense, Huang Kuo-chang said, adding that the TPP caucus during the 2025 defense budget review did not propose any cuts except for concerns it raised about the illegal use of Chinese-made products in the “Intelligent Surveillance and Monitoring System for Key Defense Camps” and called for a temporary freeze on the allocation of a significant follow-up budget for the locally built submarine Hai Kun (海鯤), as the first vessel has not yet even completed sea trials.
Photo: George Tsorng, Taipei Times
The caucus requested the executive branch provide corrections and clarifications before the freeze is lifted, he said.
“The freeze is an oversight measure, not opposition to national defense,” he said. “Responsible legislative oversight ensures taxpayers’ money is spent effectively and that our frontline military personnel receive the best training and equipment.”
Regarding the Cabinet’s proposed NT$1.25 trillion (US$39.7 billion) special defense budget, he said the two special defense budgets allocated during the eight-year presidency of former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) totaled about NT$400 billion, whereas President William Lai (賴清德), still not halfway through his term, has proposed a budget of NT$1.25 trillion, “a big amount with its details remaining unclear.”
The legislature and the public were not formally informed by the executive branch, he said. Instead, they learned about the proposal through foreign media reports, he said, adding that “this should never be considered acceptable in a democratic country.”
Huang Cheng-hui said Taiwan’s military development should seek to build a lean, professional army and invest more resources in uncrewed vehicles, artificial intelligence-driven systems and distributed operation capabilities.
For the navy, equipment such as landing craft, transport ships or rescue boats can be obtained via the private sector or wartime mobilization, he said.
Such resources should not be maintained with the military’s personnel and budgets for the long term, he added.
The army and air force should reconsider the number of battle tanks and advanced fighters actually required, he said, adding that the phrase “the more the better” is a myth.
Society for Strategy Studies senior researcher Chang Ching (張競) said the executive branch proposed the NT$1.25 trillion budget bill in the name of urgent security needs, but did not fully explain to the public and the legislature the proposed budget’s specific items, procurement reasons, delivery timelines and risk control.
That is procedurally imbalanced and irresponsible defense planning, with the legislature limited to choosing “between ‘a menu without dishes served’ and ‘a chef’s tasting menu’” and asked to pay the check without questions, he said.
Lu said defense procurement should not only align with the US military-industrial complex’s interests, but must also fulfill Taiwan’s defense requirements.
If Taiwan cannot effectively buttress its defense capability through arms deals, poor allocation of limited resources could be weaken the nation as a whole, he said.
That might not align with the US’ national interests in its pursuit of maintaining stability in the first island chain, he added.
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