Taiwan defence budget delays may push island down US priority list: William Lai
Taiwanese leader William Lai Ching-te has appealed for public support amid a dispute about a special military budget, warning that the deadlock could delay key weapons deliveries and send the island down the US arms supply priority list. The NT$1.25 trillion (US$40 billion) special budget has been repeatedly blocked by opposition parties, even as Taipei…
Taiwanese leader William Lai Ching-te has appealed for public support amid a dispute about a special military budget, warning that the deadlock could delay key weapons deliveries and send the island down the US arms supply priority list.
The NT$1.25 trillion (US$40 billion) special budget has been repeatedly blocked by opposition parties, even as Taipei has come under increasing US pressure to prove its commitment to its own defence.
Lai said this week that strengthening defence spending was “not an act of provocation” but a “necessary step to safeguard security and maintain regional stability”.
At a news conference on Wednesday, he also urged lawmakers on all sides to begin a substantive review of the special budget bill when the legislature reopened on February 24 after the Lunar New Year holiday.
Admiral Mei Chia-shu, the chief of the general staff, said at the same press briefing that Taiwan had already finished coordinating its plans with the US over pricing, delivery and supply schedules.
