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MND TO SUFFER SHORTFALL OF NT$309.3 BILLION: REPORT

Central News Agency

2005-05-23 23:13:32

    Taipei, May 23 (CNA) The Ministry of National Defense (MND) will suffer a shortfall of NT$309.3 billion over the next five years as the annual budget allocations for military purposes are expected to drop, according to an MND report released Monday.

    The report said that although the nation's gross domestic product (GDP) has registered an average 2.1 percent growth rate over the past five years, annual budgets allocated to military purposes have declined steadily.

    In 2001, the report said, military budget accounted for 2.8 percent of the GDP, but the ratio dropped to 2.4 percent this year.

    With a view to safeguarding national security, the report said, the MND will continue to ask the Cabinet to make annual military budgets account for 3 percent to 3.5 percent of the GDP in the future.

    According to the report, regular military budgets for the next five years from 2006 to 2010, are estimated at NT$1.297 trillion. However, the military actually needs more than NT$1.606 trillion to maintain its operations, leaving a shortfall of NT$309.3 billion.

(By Sofia Wu)

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