The Legislative Yuan yesterday passed a NT$236.96 billion (US$8.56 billion) special budget to procure weaponry over the next five years, with the aim of enhancing the nation’s defenses against rising Chinese aggression.
The majority, to be distributed over five years and fully financed through borrowing, would go toward weapons procurements, while NT$89.69 million is to be set aside for logistics and oversight.
The final amount was on Monday adjusted down by NT$310 million during cross-party negotiations, cutting NT$300 million from the weapons allocation and NT$10 million from the logistics allocation.
Photo: CNA
Funding is to mainly go toward domestically produced armaments, especially precision missiles, high-performance warships and weapons systems for coast guard vessels.
Eight types of weapon systems are permitted: shore-based anti-ship missiles, field and ground-based air defense systems, uncrewed aerial vehicles, air-to-ground and surface-to-surface cruise missile systems, high-performance submarines and coast guard weapon systems.
The production of the Taiwan-made Tien Kung (Sky Bow), Tien Chien (Sky Sword) and Hsiung Feng (Brave Wind) series of missiles is also supported.
Under the budget authorization bill, the Ministry of National Defense is required to submit a progress report to the legislature every May that includes spending plans for the coming year.
Prioritizing locally made equipment creates a “win-win situation” for national security and the economy, the Executive Yuan said.
It is the fourth special budget passed under President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文). A special budget is not constrained by spending restrictions placed on the regular budget.
It also comes on top of a record annual defense budget of NT$471.7 billion for this fiscal year.
The Cabinet in September last year proposed an authorization bill for the special budget with the goal of safeguarding national sovereignty against “severe threats” posed by China.
The legislature passed the bill on Nov. 23 last year, authorizing the Cabinet to draw up a special budget of up to NT$240 billion for weapons purchases until 2026.
The Cabinet then drafted a special budget and sent it to the legislature for approval, but it stagnated in cross-party negotiations due to an opposition boycott over alleged government partiality in campaigning against the referendums held on Dec. 18.
To pass important bills left after the regular session ended on Dec. 31, the Democratic Progressive Party caucus called an extraordinary session that started on Wednesday last week and is to continue until Jan. 28.
During cross-party negotiations on Monday, a consensus was reportedly reached on most items and legislators across party lines expressed support for enhancing national defense capabilities.
Several resolutions were also passed affirming the importance of researching, developing and procuring arms to keep the nation secure; calling on contractors and manufacturers to protect defense secrets; and suggesting that the ministry conduct security assessments of related personnel and manufacturers.
A group of Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislators also passed a resolution advising more judicious use of special budgets.
DEATH THREAT: A MAC official said that it has urged Beijing to avoid creating barriers that would impede exchanges across the Strait, but it continues to do so People should avoid unnecessary travel to China after Beijing issued 22 guidelines allowing its courts to try in absentia and sentence to death “Taiwan independence separatists,” the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday as it raised its travel alert for China, including Hong Kong and Macau, to “orange.” The guidelines published last week “severely threaten the personal safety of Taiwanese traveling to China, Hong Kong and Macau,” MAC Deputy Minister and spokesman Liang Wen-chieh (梁文傑) told a news conference in Taipei. “Following a comprehensive assessment, the government considers it necessary to elevate the travel alert to orange from yellow,” Liang said. Beijing has
Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) yesterday said that the Chinese Communist Party was planning and implementing “major” reforms, ahead of a political conclave that is expected to put economic recovery high on the agenda. Chinese policymakers have struggled to reignite growth since late 2022, when restrictions put in place due to the COVID-19 pandemic were lifted. The world’s second-largest economy is beset by a debt crisis in the property sector, persistently low consumption and high unemployment among young people. Policymakers “are planning and implementing major measures to further deepen reform in a comprehensive manner,” Xi said in a speech at the Great Hall
CIVIL DEFENSE: More reservists in alternative service would help establish a sound civil defense system for use in wartime and during natural disasters, Kuma Academy’s CEO said While a total of 120,000 reservists are expected to be called up for alternative reserve drills this year, compared with the 6,505 drilled last year, the number has been revised to 58,000 due to a postponed training date, Deputy Minster of the Interior Ma Shih-yuan (馬士元) said. In principle, the ministry still aims to call up 120,000 reservists for alternative reserve drills next year, he said, but the actual number would not be decided later until after this year’s evaluation. The increase follows a Legislative Yuan request that the Ministry of the Interior address low recruitment rates, which it made while reviewing
SOLUTIONS NEEDED: Taiwan must attract about 400,000 to 500,000 skilled foreign workers due to population decline, the minister of economic affairs said in Washington President William Lai’s (賴清德) administration is considering a plan to import labor to deal with an impending shortage of engineers and other highly skilled workers, Minister of Economic Affairs J.W. Kuo (郭智輝) said in Washington on Tuesday. Kuo was leading a delegation attending the SelectUSA Investment Summit. Taiwan must attract about 400,000 to 500,000 skilled foreign workers for high-end manufacturing jobs by 2040, he said. Ministry of Economic Affairs officials are still calculating the precise number of workers that are needed, as it works on loosening immigration restrictions and creating incentives, Kuo said. Taiwanese firms operating factories in the US and other countries would