2020/08/23
1090823_The Ministry of National Defense issued a press release in response to the media reports that "the national defense budget increased by NT$15.6 billion, a growth of 4.44%, which is simply a meaningless figure of exaggeration"
Release from the Ministry of National Defense (MND)
August 23, 2020 16:00 (GMT +8)
In response to media reports that "the defense budget has increased by NT$15.6 billion, a growth of 4.44%, which is a meaningless figure of mere exaggeration," the MND stated today (23) that the explanation on the increase and decrease of the defense budget is done based on the general budget of the Central Government by the Executive Yuan, as well as the format of the general budget and in line with the budget statement sent to the Legislative Yuan. Overall, both are produced according to the comparison between the "approved budget of the target year" and the "statutory budget of the previous year", which is consistent with the discussions of the Executive Yuan and various other ministries.
The MND indicated that the defense budget is appropriated based on enemy threat and also rendered in accordance with the processes of the "Army Building-up Plan" and in combination with national defense policy priorities as the current implementation status is reviewed. Therefore, the defense budget is put together by annual rolling review. Therefore, there is no such media report as crisis of budget turnover. Furthermore, the budget for operations as spare parts and fuel has been appropriately increased in the 2021 fiscal year in order to match the lifespan of weapons and equipment, as well as meet the task needs of combat readiness. Doing so should help ensure the availability of equipment and improve the maintenance and repair capacity for logistics.
The MND emphasized that a defense budget of steady growth is conducive to the overall and long-term planning of the military reconstruction plan. In subsequent years, it will continue to increase the size of the budget based on the needs of military build-up and war preparations and specifically demonstrate our determination of self-defense. Therefore, it appeals to nationals for support.
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Phone: 02-85099100
Fax: 02-85099105
Website: www.mnd.gov.tw
Military Information Department of the Ministry of National Defense