The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) caucus yesterday slammed former president Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) comments that the government was squandering money on national defense, saying he has embarrassed himself by ignoring China’s rapidly expanding armed forces and military threat against Taiwan.
During a speech on Sunday at an event in Bangkok, Ma said the government had taken on a heavy burden by allocating large sums of money for military expenditure, notably to buy US-made weapons, as payment for “protection,” as former US president Donald Trump has said.
“Money-pit bills” to buy arms would ruin public finances and only benefit the US defense industry, he said.
Photo: Hsieh Chun-lin, Taipei Times
At a news conference in Taipei yesterday, DPP caucus secretary-general Rosalia Wu (吳思瑤) said that “portions of the government’s fiscal budget are for military spending to protect our country.”
“We actively engage in arms procurement from other countries to bolster our national defense, as well as to support indigenous weapons production,” she said.
“So what is wrong with building up national defense to safeguard our own country? Many countries around the world have higher military budgets than Taiwan? Are all their defense expenditures ‘money pits’?” she asked.
Ma has embarrassed himself on the world stage by calling military spending as squandering money, DPP Legislator Wang Ting-yu (王定宇) said.
“During Ma’s eight years as president, the government budget for national defense totaled more than NT$300 billion [US$9.19 billion at the current exchange rate]. It was not much, but he did allocate a budget,” Wang said.
China in March approved a national defense budget of more than 1.665 trillion yuan (US$234.35 billion), a 7.2 percent increase from last year, Wang added.
“We are the one under hostile intimidation by China, but Ma says Taiwan spending on the military is squandering money. Ma chooses to grovel and kowtow to China, while Beijing expands its budget to escalate its military threat against Taiwan,” he said.
Taiwan People’s Party Legislator Lin Yi-chun (林憶君) yesterday also criticized Ma’s comments.
“Allocating a budget for national defense depends on the military threat against Taiwan, and the amount should be adjusted as needed,” she said.
Taiwan faces more intense hostility from China compared with when Ma was in office, she said.
“Taiwan must invest in national defense, which has nothing to do with Trump’s talk about ‘paying for protection,’ nor Ma’s talk of ‘money-pit bills.’ It is necessary to allocate a budget to build up a more effective deterrent against hostile military threats from abroad,” she said.
The government must carefully plan the national defense budget to enhance Taiwan’s deterrence, while engaging in dialogue with China to reduce hostilities. This is the best way for Taiwan to achieve long-term peace and security,” Lin said.
Additional reporting by Lin Che-yuan
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