Ministry of National Defense: Deletion of Special Budget is Like a Martial Artist Losing Function, Impact Inestimable

Central News Agency, Taipei, 14th - Reporters Yu Kai-hsiang and Lai Yu-chen.

The Legislative Yuan passed the third reading of the Special Act on National Defense, deleting items for commercial procurement and commissioned production. The Ministry of National Defense (MND) stated today that this move has caused a 'martial artist to almost completely lose their functions,' with a significant impact on military building and war preparation, and an inestimable blow to combat power. The MND will actively develop response plans within legal and regulatory limits to minimize the impact.

The Legislative Yuan passed the Special Act on National Defense with a budget ceiling of NT$780 billion, excluding commercial procurement and commissioned production cases such as drones and unmanned vessels, Strong Bow missiles, Taiwan Tactical Network (TTN), and Team Awareness Kit (TAK). This is NT$470 billion less than the Executive Yuan's version of NT$1.25 trillion over 8 years. The MND reported on 'Unapproved Items of the Special Defense Budget and Their Impact' at the Executive Yuan meeting this morning.

Lieutenant General Huang Wen-chi, Director of the MND's Strategic Planning Department, stated in a post-meeting press conference briefing that joint operations are like a martial artist, who must possess a sharp mind, keen eyes, powerful fists and feet, and an endless supply of energy. Therefore, the Executive Yuan's version of the special defense act was divided into four parts: command and control decision-making, all-domain surveillance, high-efficiency strike, and defense resilience.

Huang Wen-chi emphasized that for the deleted portion (NT$470 billion), 'the key is not the amount, but the structural problem.' The functions a martial artist needs are almost completely lost. Command and control decision-making, all-domain surveillance, and defense resilience were completely deleted. 'Without a brain, eyes, ears, and sufficient nutrition, even with fists and feet, several fingers are broken,' he said, noting the significant impact on military building and war preparation, and the inestimable blow to combat power.

Huang Wen-chi further explained that command and control decision-making includes three links: 'AI-assisted intelligence decision-making module,' 'TAK,' and 'TTN.' In modern warfare, relying solely on manual interpretation of large amounts of intelligence is very tight and lags far behind the enemy's decision-making cycle. In addition, as the military promotes decentralized command and control, it must have regional combat capabilities. Currently, with US assistance, only 'partial' TTN and TAK functions have been established, which is why the Executive Yuan's special budget was intended to procure the necessary equipment for all three services' ground forces at once.

The all-domain surveillance part includes 'coastal surveillance drones, vertical take-off and landing drones, and Rui Yuan II drones.' Huang Wen-chi mentioned that without these three types of long, medium, and short-range drones, it would be impossible to accurately find and strike the enemy. 'No matter how many weapons you have, if you can't find the target, you can't be effective.'

The defense resilience part includes 'new and expanded production lines for military equipment,' 'general munitions,' and 'mobile obstacle equipment.' Huang Wen-chi pointed out that it is almost impossible for Taiwan to fight independently for a long time if its sea lines of communication are cut off. Therefore, having autonomous production capacity is crucial for sustained combat power. In addition, mobile obstacle equipment can effectively deter the enemy from rapidly advancing on important core defense areas.

Regarding the high-efficiency strike part, Huang Wen-chi stated that the originally planned Strong Bow air defense missile system has a range of about 40 to 60 kilometers, even higher than the Patriot's 40 kilometers. Without this equipment, air defense effectiveness will be compromised. As for the portable anti-drone system, he also stressed that since the PLA will certainly use type one and two small drones, this is an inevitable threat. The lack of this equipment will impact the protection capabilities of the troops.

Huang Wen-chi pointed out that recent regional conflicts show that unmanned systems have become an important tool in new forms of warfare. If the armed forces cannot accelerate their deployment, it will be difficult to respond to modern threats. Furthermore, the development of the drone industry is not only about combat power but is also the cornerstone of national defense autonomy. If the budget fails to provide momentum to the industry, a complete system supply chain cannot be established, which in turn affects the country's overall defense resilience.

Huang Wen-chi concluded by emphasizing that the MND will actively develop response plans for the items not included in the special budget within legal and regulatory limits, to minimize the impact and provide officers and soldiers with the most complete combat power, using the strongest means to protect national security. (Editor: Wan Shu-chang) 1150514