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.
The disruption of 941 flights in and out of Taiwan due to China’s large-scale military exercises was no accident, but rather the result of a “quasi-blockade” used to simulate creating the air and sea routes needed for an amphibious landing, a military expert said. The disruptions occurred on Tuesday and lasted about 10 hours as China conducted live-fire drills in the Taiwan Strait. The Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) said the exercises affected 857 international flights and 84 domestic flights, affecting more than 100,000 travelers. Su Tzu-yun (蘇紫雲), a research fellow at the government-sponsored Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said the air
Taiwan is to commence mass production of the Tien Kung (天弓, “Sky Bow”) III, IV and V missiles by the second quarter of this year if the legislature approves the government’s NT$1.25 trillion (US$39.78 billion) special defense budget, an official said yesterday. Commenting on condition of anonymity, a defense official with knowledge of the matter said that the advanced systems are expected to provide crucial capabilities against ballistic and cruise missiles for the proposed “T-Dome,” an advanced, multi-layered air defense network. The Tien Kung III is an air defense missile with a maximum interception altitude of 35km. The Tien Kung IV and V
Trips for more than 100,000 international and domestic air travelers could be disrupted as China launches a military exercise around Taiwan today, Taiwan’s Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) said yesterday. The exercise could affect nearly 900 flights scheduled to enter the Taipei Flight Information Region (FIR) during the exercise window, it added. A notice issued by the Chinese Civil Aviation Administration showed there would be seven temporary zones around the Taiwan Strait which would be used for live-fire exercises, lasting from 8am to 6pm today. All aircraft are prohibited from entering during exercise, it says. Taipei FIR has 14 international air routes and
Taiwan lacks effective and cost-efficient armaments to intercept rockets, making the planned “T-Dome” interception system necessary, two experts said on Tuesday. The concerns were raised after China’s military fired two waves of rockets during live-fire drills around Taiwan on Tuesday, part of two-day exercises code-named “Justice Mission 2025.” The first wave involved 17 rockets launched at 9am from Pingtan in China’s Fujian Province, according to Lieutenant General Hsieh Jih-sheng (謝日升) of the Office of the Deputy Chief of the General Staff for Intelligence at the Ministry of National Defense. Those rockets landed 70 nautical miles (129.6km) northeast of Keelung without flying over Taiwan,
RSS