Reference News Network November 4 report. According to the Central Television News on November 3, a report made by the Taiwan authorities' defense department to the relevant legislative committee pointed out that the three U.S. military procurement cases of AGM-154C missiles, F-16V BLK70 aircraft, and MK-48 heavy torpedoes have been delayed, with a total budget of 388.66 billion New Taiwan Dollars (1 New Taiwan Dollar is approximately 0.23 Chinese Yuan - this website note). In response, the head of the Taiwan authorities' defense department, Ku Li-yung, said on November 3 that they will accelerate the supervision of performance and revealed that the U.S. has established a project office, and both sides are working together to ensure the successful completion of the delivery.

The relevant legislative committee arranged for Ku Li-yung to report on "analysis of the reasons for the lag in recent military engineering projects of the Taiwan military and specific measures for military and commercial procurement delays" and be prepared for questioning. Before the meeting, Ku Li-yung explained the countermeasures for the delay in the military procurement cases.

According to the report content, the Taiwan authorities' defense department listed three parts: military engineering, military procurement, and commercial procurement; in terms of military procurement, the progress delay was the AGM-154C missile case with a budget of 135.97 billion New Taiwan Dollars, the F-16V BLK70 aircraft case with a budget of 247.23 billion New Taiwan Dollars, and the MK-48 heavy torpedo case with a budget of 5.46 billion New Taiwan Dollars, totaling 388.66 billion New Taiwan Dollars.

Ku Li-yung explained that he will accelerate the supervision of performance, and the U.S. has also established a project office, hoping to do their best to complete the delivery as soon as possible.

Media asked, the report has a light-hearted approach, because the "Harpoon" missile was previously said to be urgent, but now it is delayed; the "Stinger" missile procurement case is also delayed, but it is not mentioned in the report.

In response, Ku Li-yung emphasized that the "Harpoon" missile and "Stinger" missile procurement cases are all in accordance with the relevant bidding schedule, "still before the delivery time point", still within the contract period, no delay has occurred.

[United Daily News, November 3 report] In recent years, various U.S. military equipment purchases have frequently reported delays and failure to deliver on time, and opposition party legislators have expressed doubts. The chairperson of the People's Party Legislative Group, Huang Kuo-chang, stated that the People's Party does not support corruption and waste, nor will it support treating the people as a dish; Ku Tsai-ping, a legislator from the Kuomintang, also stated that the money for our military procurement has been paid, but the related weapons have not yet arrived, and the defense department or other relevant units have no idea.

Ku Tsai-ping believes that from the budget perspective, the money has been spent, but the weapons have not arrived, and now the defense special budget needs to be compiled again for more than 1 trillion New Taiwan Dollars, the old orders have not arrived, and the new ones also need the other party's approval, "so what is the purpose of these budgets? Where will they be used?"

Regarding the repeated delays in military procurement, Huang Kuo-chang stated that the authorities have allocated more than 240 billion New Taiwan Dollars to purchase new fighter jets, but the money has been paid, and no planes have been received, "is there anyone who buys like this? Is there anyone who does business like this?"

Legislator Lin Guo-cheng of the People's Party stated that the United States only wants Taiwan to place an order, but repeatedly delays the delivery date. The authorities should raise an objection. There are ways to handle breaches of contract, but the Democratic Progressive Party is completely afraid to speak up. Next, they will compile a special budget of more than 1 trillion New Taiwan Dollars, "before the delivery, we need so much money, which is basically robbing our money."

Lin Guo-cheng said that military procurement should deliver first, otherwise it is a blackmail act. The defense department should carefully consider in the future, otherwise, if money is not delivered, it is not a fair transaction.

Original: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7568704919931322926/

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