Koo says KMT defense budget bill could derail U.S. arms procurement

Taipei, March 6 (CNA) Defense Minister Wellington Koo (顧立雄) warned Friday that a special defense budget bill unveiled by the opposition Kuomintang (KMT) a day earlier could derail the procurement of five weapons systems approved by Washington for sale to Taiwan.

The KMT proposal sets a budget cap of NT$380 billion (US$11.9 billion) and would fund eight U.S. weapons systems announced for sale to Taiwan on Dec. 17.

Speaking to reporters before attending a legislative meeting, Koo said the budget ceiling in the KMT bill does not account for potential new arms sale packages that may be approved for Taiwan in the future.

• Competing bills to fund U.S. weapons purchase advance to committee

Koo also said the bill requires five of the eight U.S. systems to be fully delivered by Dec. 31, 2028. Those systems include High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS), Javelin missiles, Altius-700M and Altius-600 drones, TOW missiles and M109A7 self-propelled howitzers.

According to Koo, the requirement could prove problematic because it would be impossible for the United States to meet the deadline in the KMT bill, leaving the Ministry of National Defense unable to carry out the procurement.

"This, in effect, shuts out those five initiatives," Koo said.

In contrast, special defense budget bills proposed by the Cabinet and the smaller opposition Taiwan People's Party both set a later deadline of Dec. 31, 2033, for completing the arms procurement.

However, Koo's remarks did not address the fact that deliveries of some weapons Taiwan ordered from the U.S. have already fallen significantly behind schedule.

For example, the 66 F-16 Block 70 fighter jets approved for sale to Taiwan in 2019 -- funded through a separate special budget -- were originally scheduled to be delivered in full by the end of this year.

However, Taiwan has not received any of the aircraft due to production line issues.

Koo added that the Cabinet's version of the special defense bill was formulated after two years of research and is recognized by the U.S. government and Congress.

The proposal integrates domestic production, foreign military sales, commercial procurement and commissioned manufacturing into a comprehensive defense plan, he said.

If key items are removed, Taiwan's joint combat capabilities would be significantly weakened, Koo said.