Taiwan has to demonstrate that it is determined to defend itself to the new US administration, Minister of National Defense Wellington Koo (顧立雄) said today when asked about a potential defense budget cut.
When asked whether a three-percent budget cut being proposed by the Taiwan People’s Party would convey a wrong message to Taiwan’s allies, Koo said it would affect the military’s operation and investment projects.
The ministry hopes its NT$476 billion (US$14.46 billion) budget could be passed in its entirety in order to signify to the incoming administration of US President-elect Donald Trump that Taiwan is determined to defend itself, he said.
Photo: Liu Hsin-te, Taipei Times
Regarding the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) proposal to suspend NT$1.8 billion of the ministry’s NT$2 billion budget for the indigenous defense submarine program, Koo said he had “made a promise” that the ministry would only use the budget after the Hai Kun (海鯤), or Narwhal, passes the sea acceptance test which is expected to be held in April, so the ministry does not want the budget to be frozen or slashed.
Speaking about a recent incident in which a Chinese-linked ship was suspected of damaging one of Taiwan’s undersea cables, Koo said Taiwan will dispatch its navy if necessary to help the coast guard respond to any suspicious activity near undersea communication cables.
The authorities said a ship owned by a Hong Kong company but registered in both Cameroon and Tanzania damaged a cable to the north of the island earlier this month, although it says it has not been able to verify the ship's intentions and was unable to board it due to bad weather.
The ship's owner has denied involvement, and China's government has said Taiwan was making up accusations before the facts were clear.
The incident has particularly alarmed Taiwan given it has repeatedly complained about "grey-zone" Chinese activities around it, which are intended to pressure Taiwan without direct confrontation such as balloon overflights and sand dredging.
Speaking to reporters at parliament, Koo said the armed forces would closely coordinate with the coast guard and help monitor areas where sea cables are located.
"Once something happens, the coast guard will go out first, and if needed the navy will immediately cooperate if a response is required," he added.
Also speaking to the media at parliament, National Security Bureau Director-General Tsai Ming-yen (蔡明彥) said the government has already activated a mechanism with "international friends" to exchange information about Chinese "grey-zone" maritime activities, though he did not provide details.
Taiwan's focus will be on ships carrying flags of convenience — those registered in countries other than the one where their actual owner is based in — and how China might be using them in the waters around Taiwan, Tsai said.
The authorities have pointed to similarities between what it experienced and damage to undersea cables in the Baltic Sea following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Last week, the government said Chinese ships flying flags of convenience have "the mark of evil about them."
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
The High Prosecutors’ Office yesterday withdrew an appeal against the acquittal of a former bank manager 22 years after his death, marking Taiwan’s first instance of prosecutors rendering posthumous justice to a wrongfully convicted defendant. Chu Ching-en (諸慶恩) — formerly a manager at the Taipei branch of BNP Paribas — was in 1999 accused by Weng Mao-chung (翁茂鍾), then-president of Chia Her Industrial Co, of forging a request for a fixed deposit of US$10 million by I-Hwa Industrial Co, a subsidiary of Chia Her, which was used as collateral. Chu was ruled not guilty in the first trial, but was found guilty
A wild live dugong was found in Taiwan for the first time in 88 years, after it was accidentally caught by a fisher’s net on Tuesday in Yilan County’s Fenniaolin (粉鳥林). This is the first sighting of the species in Taiwan since 1937, having already been considered “extinct” in the country and considered as “vulnerable” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. A fisher surnamed Chen (陳) went to Fenniaolin to collect the fish in his netting, but instead caught a 3m long, 500kg dugong. The fisher released the animal back into the wild, not realizing it was an endangered species at
DEADLOCK: As the commission is unable to forum a quorum to review license renewal applications, the channel operators are not at fault and can air past their license date The National Communications Commission (NCC) yesterday said that the Public Television Service (PTS) and 36 other television and radio broadcasters could continue airing, despite the commission’s inability to meet a quorum to review their license renewal applications. The licenses of PTS and the other channels are set to expire between this month and June. The National Communications Commission Organization Act (國家通訊傳播委員會組織法) stipulates that the commission must meet the mandated quorum of four to hold a valid meeting. The seven-member commission currently has only three commissioners. “We have informed the channel operators of the progress we have made in reviewing their license renewal applications, and
RSS