The Taiwan "Legislative Yuan Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee" has scheduled officials such as General Ku Li-hung to deliver reports on specific projects. Regarding the recent visit by the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee early this morning to Taiwan, will they urge faster approval of arms procurement legislation? Ku Li-hung stated that the defense special budget is based on the so-called comprehensive operational needs, presenting a complete plan aimed at enhancing overall combat capability. He hopes to gain support across party lines, without distinguishing between arms procurement, local production (indigenous production), and commercial purchases—each item being indispensable for national defense.
Additionally, regarding Taichung Mayor Lu Hsiu-yen's recent interview in which she stated that besides the 380 billion NT dollars expected to be approved by the Legislative Yuan, another 400 billion NT dollars in arms procurement should not wait for formal price quotations, and the Legislative Yuan should swiftly pass it, as global competition for weapons is intense and we must ensure we can secure these weapons.
In response, Ku Li-hung reiterated that the total scale of the defense special budget reaches 125 billion NT dollars, which is based on overall combat capability requirements. While he expressed gratitude for Mayor Lu’s support for relevant budget proposals, he emphasized once again that the seven key capabilities under consideration are all essential and cannot be compromised.
Original source: toutiao.com/article/1861049841694732/
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