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.
People can preregister to receive their NT$10,000 (US$325) cash distributed from the central government on Nov. 5 after President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday signed the Special Budget for Strengthening Economic, Social and National Security Resilience, the Executive Yuan told a news conference last night. The special budget, passed by the Legislative Yuan on Friday last week with a cash handout budget of NT$236 billion, was officially submitted to the Executive Yuan and the Presidential Office yesterday afternoon. People can register through the official Web site at https://10000.gov.tw to have the funds deposited into their bank accounts, withdraw the funds at automated teller
PEACE AND STABILITY: Maintaining the cross-strait ‘status quo’ has long been the government’s position, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Taiwan is committed to maintaining the cross-strait “status quo” and seeks no escalation of tensions, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said yesterday, rebutting a Time magazine opinion piece that described President William Lai (賴清德) as a “reckless leader.” The article, titled “The US Must Beware of Taiwan’s Reckless Leader,” was written by Lyle Goldstein, director of the Asia Program at the Washington-based Defense Priorities think tank. Goldstein wrote that Taiwan is “the world’s most dangerous flashpoint” amid ongoing conflicts in the Middle East and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. He said that the situation in the Taiwan Strait has become less stable
CONCESSION: A Shin Kong official said that the firm was ‘willing to contribute’ to the nation, as the move would enable Nvidia Crop to build its headquarters in Taiwan Shin Kong Life Insurance Co (新光人壽) yesterday said it would relinquish land-use rights, or known as surface rights, for two plots in Taipei’s Beitou District (北投), paving the way for Nvidia Corp to expand its office footprint in Taiwan. The insurer said it made the decision “in the interest of the nation’s greater good” and would not seek compensation from taxpayers for potential future losses, calling the move a gesture to resolve a months-long impasse among the insurer, the Taipei City Government and the US chip giant. “The decision was made on the condition that the Taipei City Government reimburses the related
FRESH LOOK: A committee would gather expert and public input on the themes and visual motifs that would appear on the notes, the central bank governor said The central bank has launched a comprehensive redesign of New Taiwan dollar banknotes to enhance anti-counterfeiting measures, improve accessibility and align the bills with global sustainability standards, Governor Yang Chin-long (楊金龍) told a meeting of the legislature’s Finance Committee yesterday. The overhaul would affect all five denominations — NT$100, NT$200, NT$500, NT$1,000 and NT$2,000 notes — but not coins, Yang said. It would be the first major update to the banknotes in 24 years, as the current series, introduced in 2001, has remained in circulation amid rapid advances in printing technology and security standards. “Updating the notes is essential to safeguard the integrity
RSS