TPP chair says party will propose revised special defense budget

Taipei, Jan. 14 (CNA) The opposition Taiwan People's Party (TPP) will propose a revised special defense budget, TPP Chairman Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌) said Wednesday, following his return from meetings with American officials in Washington, D.C.

Speaking at TPP headquarters after returning to Taiwan Wednesday morning, Huang said he met with U.S. trade, defense and State Department officials during a whirlwind visit to the United States capital on Monday.

During the meetings, Huang said the TPP delegation expressed its reservations about the Taiwan government's proposed NT$1.25 trillion (US$39.5 billion) special defense budget, including the lack of clarity about how the money would be spent.

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A special budget is funding outside of the central government's general budget (which already includes defense spending) that is financed by issuing debt.

Huang said he told U.S. officials that the legislature of a democratic country like Taiwan could not accept reviewing a budget with unclear or unknown spending items, and that the U.S. "understood and agreed with" his concerns.

A "relatively high proportion" of the proposed budget's NT$1.25 trillion in funds would not be allotted to U.S. arms purchases, Huang claimed, without elaborating.

Huang was referring to the special defense budget approved by Taiwan's Cabinet on Nov. 27 to fund weapons procurement and joint development programs with the U.S. from 2026 to 2033.

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To date, the TPP and the main opposition Kuomintang have teamed up six times up to block consideration of the bill in the Legislature.

Asked by reporters if his position on the budget had changed after his visit to the U.S., Huang said his opposition to the bill had in fact become stronger.

"Taiwan needs to strengthen its defense, but the budget can't be wasted, or treated like spoils in the eyes of arms dealers or middlemen," he said.

Huang said the TPP will wait to hear a closed legislative committee briefing on the special budget next week by the Ministry of National Defense (MND), after which it will propose its own version of the bill.

Asked if the TPP budget would be smaller than the government's, and if it had received backing from the U.S., Huang said it did not require consent from the United States, as Taiwan and the U.S. each have their own respective positions.

As for the size of the TPP's budget proposal, Huang said it was too early to say, since it will be based on information from the MND's report on the budget next week.