Taiwan considers resubmitting request for rejected defence budget items
TAIPEI, May 14 (Reuters) – Taiwan’s government said on Thursday it was considering submitting a request to parliament again for items cut by lawmakers from the special defense budget, given how important they are to the island’s security.
Taiwan’s opposition-controlled parliament last week approved only two-thirds of the $40 billion special defense budget requested by President Lai Ching-te; While this budget financed US arms purchases, it also cut domestic programs such as unmanned aerial vehicles.
The United States is disappointed that Washington approved less defense spending than it believes it needs, a senior U.S. official said Sunday.
Lai has made it a priority to increase defense spending, something Washington strongly supports, to better deter China, which considers democratically governed Taiwan as its own territory.
Taiwan cabinet spokeswoman Michelle Lee told reporters in Taipei that Prime Minister Cho Jung-tai is concerned about the impact on the military’s overall modernization program, which includes money for anti-ballistic missile systems.
That’s why the prime minister has asked the defense ministry to examine whether to request a supplementary budget for the rejected items or by scaling up the existing annual budget, Lee said.
Referring to Cho’s comments in the cabinet, he added that the failure to fully fund the government’s plans “seriously undermines the integrity of defense force construction.”
The timing of the renewed discussions on defense spending is particularly odd given that U.S. President Donald Trump, who has strongly supported Taiwan’s focus on strengthening its military, is in Beijing this week to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Xi told Trump on Thursday that the dispute over Taiwan could send relations down a dangerous path and that “Taiwan independence” and cross-Taiwan Strait peace are “as irreconcilable as fire and water.”
In response, Lee said he believed China’s military threat was “the sole source of insecurity in the Taiwan Strait and the broader Indo-Pacific region.” “Continued strengthening of national defense and effective collective deterrence is the most critical factor in ensuring regional peace and stability.” he added.
In December, Washington announced an $11 billion arms sales package for Taiwan, the largest ever.
A second package worth about $14 billion could be announced when Trump returns to the United States after this week’s visit to China, Reuters previously reported.
China demanded that the US stop arms sales to Taiwan.
(Reporting by Ben Blanchard; Editing by Jamie Freed)
