The Presidential Office, the Ministry of National Defense and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday thanked the US for approving a US$500 million arms sale package to Taiwan on Wednesday.
The US Department of State approved the sale of F-16 Infrared Search and Track systems and related equipment for an estimated cost of US$500 million, the US Defense Security Cooperation Agency said in a press release.
The agency delivered certification notifying the US Congress of the sale on the same day, it said.
Photo: Yimou Lee, Reuters
“This proposed sale serves US national, economic and security interests by supporting the recipient’s continuing efforts to modernize its armed forces and to maintain a credible defensive capability,” it said.
The sale can help improve Taiwan’s security and maintain regional political stability, military balance and economic progress, it said.
In Taipei yesterday, the Ministry of National Defense said that the sale, which is expected to take effect in one month, would bolster the ability of its fleet of F-16s to detect and track long-distance targets, and greatly enhance the effectiveness of air combat.
The foreign ministry thanked the US government for continuing to help the nation to improve its self-defense capabilities in accordance with the Taiwan Relations Act and the “six assurances.”
This is the 11th arms sale approved by the administration of US President Joe Biden, which has continued its policy of normalizing arms sales to Taiwan and demonstrated that it considers Taiwan’s defense needs a high priority, the foreign ministry said.
Taiwan will continue to demonstrate its self-defense determination, strengthen the national defense force and safeguard national security and interests, Presidential Office spokeswoman Olivia Lin (林聿禪) said.
It will also continue to deepen its security partnership with the US, as well as cooperate with like-minded countries to jointly safeguard peace, stability and prosperity in the Taiwan Strait and the Indo-Pacific region, Lin said.
Meanwhile, the Executive Yuan approved a NT$440.6 billion (US$13.86 billion) national defense budget — or about 2.5 percent of GDP — as part of the proposed general budget for next year, the Cabinet told a post-meeting news conference.
The figure would be a year-on-year increase of 7.7 percent, or NT$31.4 billion, Cabinet officials said.
If the NT$94.3 billion special budget for obtaining new fighter jets and missiles are included, total military expenditure would rise to NT$543.9 billion, an annual increase of 3.3 percent, or NT$17.4 billion, they said.
Adding NT$71.9 billion in nonprofit special funds, national defense spending for next year would rise to NT$606.8 billion, an increase of NT$31.4 billion from this year, officials said.
Excluding all special budget items, non-profit and for-profit special funds and other unlisted expenditures, the nation’s military spending would comprise 15 percent of the general budget, or NT$431.2 billion, they said.
If the Legislative Yuan passes the budget, it would mean that defense expenditure would have increased 38 percent since President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) took office eight years ago, Premier Chen Chien-jen (陳建仁) told reporters.
According to the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics, next year’s proposed national defense budget includes NT$130.6 billion in military investments and NT$179 billion in personnel costs.
SECURITY: As China is ‘reshaping’ Hong Kong’s population, Taiwan must raise the eligibility threshold for applications from Hong Kongers, Chiu Chui-cheng said When Hong Kong and Macau citizens apply for residency in Taiwan, it would be under a new category that includes a “national security observation period,” Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) said yesterday. President William Lai (賴清德) on March 13 announced 17 strategies to counter China’s aggression toward Taiwan, including incorporating national security considerations into the review process for residency applications from Hong Kong and Macau citizens. The situation in Hong Kong is constantly changing, Chiu said to media yesterday on the sidelines of the Taipei Technology Run hosted by the Taipei Neihu Technology Park Development Association. With
‘FORM OF PROTEST’: The German Institute Taipei said it was ‘shocked’ to see Nazi symbolism used in connection with political aims as it condemned the incident Sung Chien-liang (宋建樑), who led efforts to recall Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Lee Kun-cheng (李坤城), was released on bail of NT$80,000 yesterday amid an outcry over a Nazi armband he wore to questioning the night before. Sung arrived at the New Taipei City District Prosecutors’ Office for questioning in a recall petition forgery case on Tuesday night wearing a red armband bearing a swastika, carrying a copy of Adolf Hitler’s Mein Kampf and giving a Nazi salute. Sung left the building at 1:15am without the armband and apparently covering the book with a coat. This is a serious international scandal and Chinese
A US Marine Corps regiment equipped with Naval Strike Missiles (NSM) is set to participate in the upcoming Balikatan 25 exercise in the Luzon Strait, marking the system’s first-ever deployment in the Philippines. US and Philippine officials have separately confirmed that the Navy Marine Expeditionary Ship Interdiction System (NMESIS) — the mobile launch platform for the Naval Strike Missile — would take part in the joint exercise. The missiles are being deployed to “a strategic first island chain chokepoint” in the waters between Taiwan proper and the Philippines, US-based Naval News reported. “The Luzon Strait and Bashi Channel represent a critical access
COUNTERINTELLIGENCE TRAINING: The ministry said 87.5 percent of the apprehended Chinese agents were reported by service members they tried to lure into becoming spies Taiwanese organized crime, illegal money lenders, temples and civic groups are complicit in Beijing’s infiltration of the armed forces, the Ministry of National Defense (MND) said in a report yesterday. Retired service members who had been turned to Beijing’s cause mainly relied on those channels to infiltrate the Taiwanese military, according to the report to be submitted to lawmakers ahead of tomorrow’s hearing on Chinese espionage in the military. Chinese intelligence typically used blackmail, Internet-based communications, bribery or debts to loan sharks to leverage active service personnel to do its bidding, it said. China’s main goals are to collect intelligence, and develop a
RSS