The Legislative Yuan today passed the third reading of a NT$8.81 billion (US$280.39 million) special defense budget bill, trimming only NT$2 million in operating expenses.
The bill was passed unanimously in a legislative session today after the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee and Finance Committee yesterday passed an initial review of the Executive Yuan’s proposed procurement budget to “safeguard national security and strengthen asymmetric combat capabilities” for this year.
The Executive Yuan on Wednesday last week approved a NT$294.9 billion special defense budget for a package of weapons already approved for sale to Taiwan by the US, with NT$8.81 billion earmarked for this year, sending the bill to the legislature for review.
Photo: Fang Pin-chao, Taipei Times
The same day, Legislative Speaker Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜) sent the bill to legislative committees for review after Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) attended an interpellation session.
The legislature on May 8 passed the third reading of a special act formulated in response to enemy threats and urgent national defense needs, with the goal of acquiring weapons and equipment capable of safeguarding national security and enhancing asymmetric warfare capabilities.
The act set a budget ceiling of NT$300 billion for a first round of US arms procurement and a cap of NT$480 billion for a second round.
Under the act, the funding stipulated in both provisions would be allocated through annual drawdowns, with budgets and implementation schedules for each year subject to the approval of the legislature.
The package of weapons already approved by the US includes High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems, M109A7 self-propelled howitzers, TOW 2B missiles, Altius-700M and 600 drones, and Javelin anti-armor missiles.
The act does not specify what further items Taiwan anticipates acquiring from Washington, but it does delineate broad categories into which the weapons should fall.
They include soft and hard-kill integrated counterdrone systems, medium and low-altitude air defense systems, anti-ballistic and air defense missiles, and a replenishment program for wartime stockpiles of anti-armor missiles.
Under the act, budget preparation would not be subject to restrictions stipulated in Article 23 of the Budget Act (預算法) and funds cannot be reallocated without approval by the Legislative Yuan.
The act stipulates that the combined borrowing of the central government under the general budget and special budgets during the implementation period cannot exceed 15 percent of the combined total annual expenditures under those budgets.
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