The Executive Yuan yesterday unveiled a NT$237.3 billion (US$8.54 billion) special budget to enhance the military’s air and naval capabilities, including a NT$79.7 billion program to set up coastal anti-ship missile batteries.
On Tuesday, the Legislative Yuan approved a bill authorizing the government to draft a special budget of up to NT$240 billion for arms procurements over the next five years. The bill was later promulgated by the Presidential Office.
Speaking at a news conference after yesterday’s weekly Cabinet meeting, Executive Yuan spokesman Lo Ping-cheng (羅秉成) quoted Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) as saying that the nation must strengthen its defensive capabilities in response to China’s aggressive military posture.
Photo: CNA
The asymmetric naval capabilities to be created by the program are crucial to national security and the Cabinet expresses its gratitude to the Legislative Yuan, which acted quickly to raise the budget limit, Su added.
Program funds would purchase precision-guided missiles and high-performance warships, and retrofit coast guard cutters for combat, he said.
Lo said that the premier has arranged to personally report on the Cabinet’s proposal to the legislature and has informed officials to work closely with lawmakers so that the special budget might be approved in the current legislative session.
The proposal would be funded by increasing the national debt, which would make it possible to meet these urgent national security requirements in the shortest possible time, the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics said in a news release.
The acquisition of NT$79.7 billion in Harpoon Coastal Defense Systems and munitions is the largest item in the budget, the agency said.
The budget authorizes the government to spend NT$69.2 billion on the mass production of Ta Chiang-class corvettes, while NT$3.2 billion in weapon systems and equipment would be secured so that the coast guard’s offshore patrol cutters might be retrofitted, it said.
The air-defense items procured would include NT$8.9 billion for mobile air-defense systems and NT$34.7 billion for ground-based defense systems, it added.
The counterattack systems procured would include NT$12 billion for attack drones, NT$12.6 billion for Wan Chien air-to-ground cruise missiles and NT$17 billion for Hsiung Sheng cruise missiles, it said.
Three Taiwanese airlines have prohibited passengers from packing Bluetooth earbuds and their charger cases in checked luggage. EVA Air and Uni Air said that Bluetooth earbuds and charger cases are categorized as portable electronic devices, which should be switched off if they are placed in checked luggage based on international aviation safety regulations. They must not be in standby or sleep mode. However, as charging would continue when earbuds are placed in the charger cases, which would contravene international aviation regulations, their cases must be carried as hand luggage, they said. Tigerair Taiwan said that earbud charger cases are equipped
Foreign travelers entering Taiwan on a short layover via Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport are receiving NT$600 gift vouchers from yesterday, the Tourism Administration said, adding that it hopes the incentive would boost tourism consumption at the airport. The program, which allows travelers holding non-Taiwan passports who enter the country during a layover of up to 24 hours to claim a voucher, aims to promote attractions at the airport, the agency said in a statement on Friday. To participate, travelers must sign up on the campaign Web site, the agency said. They can then present their passport and boarding pass for their connecting international
Temperatures in northern Taiwan are forecast to reach as high as 30°C today, as an ongoing northeasterly seasonal wind system weakens, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. CWA forecaster Tseng Chao-cheng (曾昭誠) said yesterday that with the seasonal wind system weakening, warmer easterly winds would boost the temperature today. Daytime temperatures in northern Taiwan and Yilan County are expected to range from 28°C to 30°C today, up about 3°C from yesterday, Tseng said. According to the CWA, temperature highs in central and southern Taiwan could stay stable. However, the weather is expected to turn cooler starting tonight as the northeasterly wind system strengthens again
Taiwan sweltered through its hottest October on record, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday, the latest in a string of global temperature records. The main island endured its highest average temperature since 1950, CWA forecaster Liu Pei-teng said. Temperatures the world over have soared in recent years as human-induced climate change contributes to ever more erratic weather patterns. Taiwan’s average temperature was 27.381°C as of Thursday, Liu said. Liu said the average could slip 0.1°C by the end of yesterday, but it would still be higher than the previous record of 27.009°C in 2016. "The temperature only started lowering around Oct. 18 or 19
RSS