Military Procurement Bill Stalled, Ministry of National Defense: Opposition Never Explained Logic of NT$380 Billion
Disagreement persists between Taiwan's ruling and opposition parties over the scale of the special defense budget. The Ministry of National Defense criticized the opposition for failing to explain the logical basis of their proposed budgets, such as NT$380 billion or NT$800 billion, emphasizing the need for a comprehensive plan for defense enhancement.
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- 📰 Published: May 6, 2026 at 18:55
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Central News Agency
(Central News Agency reporter Wu Shu-wei, Taipei, 6th) Consensus has not been reached between the ruling and opposition parties on the budget scale of the special defense bill. Huang Wen-chi, Director of the Ministry of National Defense's Department of Strategic Planning, stated that regardless of whether the budget scale is NT$800 billion or NT$380 billion + N, the opposition parties have never provided the logic for their budget figures; if the scale were NT$800 billion, the problem with military buildup would not be a lack of hands or feet, but rather "no eyes and no brains."
The Executive Yuan proposed a draft "Special Act for the Procurement of Enhanced Defense Resilience and Asymmetric Warfare Capabilities Plan," with an 8-year term and a budget ceiling of NT$1.25 trillion. However, the ruling and opposition parties have yet to reach a consensus on key provisions such as the budget ceiling.
Lieutenant General Sun Li-fang, Director of the Ministry of National Defense's Political Warfare Bureau and Spokesperson, and Lieutenant General Huang Wen-chi were interviewed yesterday afternoon on media personality Chou Yu-kou's radio program "News Unleashed," which aired today.
Regarding the Kuomintang's proposals for military procurement budget scales of "NT$380 billion + N" and "NT$800 billion," Huang Wen-chi stated that any undertaking requires comprehensive planning. He said that both the NT$800 billion and NT$380 billion versions directly cover the military sales items currently on the table, but they have never clearly explained the planning logic, nor why other items are not needed, and have never spoken about it.
Huang Wen-chi pointed out that one cannot simply say "commercial procurement cases will lead to corruption"; one must explain where the corruption lies. This is like car accidents happening every day on the road, but one would not prohibit driving as a result; instead, regulations should be made more thorough and traffic signals improved, which is the way to prevent corruption. He added that the Executive Yuan's NT$1.25 trillion bill has repeatedly explained its logic, while the opposition parties have not explained the logic of their proposed budget figures.
Regarding the opposition's主張 to exclude commercial sales and commissioned manufacturing from the special budget, Huang Wen-chi stated that military procurement cases are all about acquiring shooters. However, to attack the enemy, one must be able to see the target. The HIMARS multiple launch rocket system fires Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS) with a range of 300 kilometers, "so one must be able to see 300 kilometers away." Without this capability, the weapon cannot function. Huang Wen-chi gave an example: the M109A7 self-propelled howitzer has a range of 30 kilometers with standard ammunition and 45 kilometers with precision ammunition, but the targeting capability of the national army's ground forces is currently only about 10 kilometers. Therefore, the troops must be given sufficient long-range target acquisition capabilities. If the drone items in the special budget are removed, the effectiveness of firing weapons will be greatly reduced. If the special budget scale were NT$800 billion, the problem with military buildup would not be a lack of hands or feet, but rather "no eyes and no brains."
As for the opposition's argument to include commercial procurement and commissioned manufacturing items such as drones in the annual budget, Huang Wen-chi explained that the Ministry of National Defense's military investment budget for this year is NT$161.6 billion, of which only NT$8.4 billion is used for 75 new projects. However, the special defense bill plans to commission the manufacturing of 1,446 coastal surveillance drones and 208,200 coastal attack drones, among others, with an estimated procurement cost of NT$150 billion within 6 years, averaging over NT$20 billion per year.
Regarding the procurement items covered by the special bill, Sun Li-fang stated that what the Ministry of National Defense is currently doing is precisely what the People's Liberation Army of China certainly does not want Taiwan to achieve. The Ministry of National Defense's Department of Strategic Planning spent a long time studying enemy threats when planning the special budget, considering how the national army should respond in the future.
Sun Li-fang said that there are two perspectives on military buildup planning: one is "fight with what you have," even if it means fighting with bayonets; the other is "have what you need to fight," which is what the Ministry of National Defense is currently doing. Since the future form of warfare is clear, the hope is that the national army will be fully prepared. (Editor: Lin Ke-lun) 1150506
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(Central News Agency reporter Wu Shu-wei, Taipei, 6th) Consensus has not been reached between the ruling and opposition parties on the budget scale of the special defense bill. Huang Wen-chi, Director of the Ministry of National Defense's Department of Strategic Planning, stated that regardless of whether the budget scale is NT$800 billion or NT$380 billion + N, the opposition parties have never provided the logic for their budget figures; if the scale were NT$800 billion, the problem with military buildup would not be a lack of hands or feet, but rather "no eyes and no brains."
The Executive Yuan proposed a draft "Special Act for the Procurement of Enhanced Defense Resilience and Asymmetric Warfare Capabilities Plan," with an 8-year term and a budget ceiling of NT$1.25 trillion. However, the ruling and opposition parties have yet to reach a consensus on key provisions such as the budget ceiling.
Lieutenant General Sun Li-fang, Director of the Ministry of National Defense's Political Warfare Bureau and Spokesperson, and Lieutenant General Huang Wen-chi were interviewed yesterday afternoon on media personality Chou Yu-kou's radio program "News Unleashed," which aired today.
Regarding the Kuomintang's proposals for military procurement budget scales of "NT$380 billion + N" and "NT$800 billion," Huang Wen-chi stated that any undertaking requires comprehensive planning. He said that both the NT$800 billion and NT$380 billion versions directly cover the military sales items currently on the table, but they have never clearly explained the planning logic, nor why other items are not needed, and have never spoken about it.
Huang Wen-chi pointed out that one cannot simply say "commercial procurement cases will lead to corruption"; one must explain where the corruption lies. This is like car accidents happening every day on the road, but one would not prohibit driving as a result; instead, regulations should be made more thorough and traffic signals improved, which is the way to prevent corruption. He added that the Executive Yuan's NT$1.25 trillion bill has repeatedly explained its logic, while the opposition parties have not explained the logic of their proposed budget figures.
Regarding the opposition's主張 to exclude commercial sales and commissioned manufacturing from the special budget, Huang Wen-chi stated that military procurement cases are all about acquiring shooters. However, to attack the enemy, one must be able to see the target. The HIMARS multiple launch rocket system fires Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS) with a range of 300 kilometers, "so one must be able to see 300 kilometers away." Without this capability, the weapon cannot function. Huang Wen-chi gave an example: the M109A7 self-propelled howitzer has a range of 30 kilometers with standard ammunition and 45 kilometers with precision ammunition, but the targeting capability of the national army's ground forces is currently only about 10 kilometers. Therefore, the troops must be given sufficient long-range target acquisition capabilities. If the drone items in the special budget are removed, the effectiveness of firing weapons will be greatly reduced. If the special budget scale were NT$800 billion, the problem with military buildup would not be a lack of hands or feet, but rather "no eyes and no brains."
As for the opposition's argument to include commercial procurement and commissioned manufacturing items such as drones in the annual budget, Huang Wen-chi explained that the Ministry of National Defense's military investment budget for this year is NT$161.6 billion, of which only NT$8.4 billion is used for 75 new projects. However, the special defense bill plans to commission the manufacturing of 1,446 coastal surveillance drones and 208,200 coastal attack drones, among others, with an estimated procurement cost of NT$150 billion within 6 years, averaging over NT$20 billion per year.
Regarding the procurement items covered by the special bill, Sun Li-fang stated that what the Ministry of National Defense is currently doing is precisely what the People's Liberation Army of China certainly does not want Taiwan to achieve. The Ministry of National Defense's Department of Strategic Planning spent a long time studying enemy threats when planning the special budget, considering how the national army should respond in the future.
Sun Li-fang said that there are two perspectives on military buildup planning: one is "fight with what you have," even if it means fighting with bayonets; the other is "have what you need to fight," which is what the Ministry of National Defense is currently doing. Since the future form of warfare is clear, the hope is that the national army will be fully prepared. (Editor: Lin Ke-lun) 1150506
Choose to stand with facts, every sponsorship you provide is a force to protect press freedom.
Download the Central News Agency's "First-hand News" APP to stay updated with the latest news.
The text, images, and videos on this website may not be reproduced, publicly broadcast, publicly transmitted, or utilized without authorization.