MILITARY PROCUREMENT PLANS BLOCKED AGAIN IN LEGISLATURE
ROC Central News Agency
2006-11-15 10:49:16
(repeat)
Taipei, Nov. 14 (CNA) The government's arms procurement plans suffered another setback Tuesday as the opposition-controlled Procedure Committee of the legislature refused to include related budget bills on the legislative agenda.
It was the 64th time in five years that the arms procurement budget legislation submitted by the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP)-led government had been blocked in the Legislative Yuan.
The government plans to purchase eight diesel-electric submarines, a squadron of 12 P-3C anti-submarine aircraft and six Patriot PAC III anti-missile batteries from the United States.
An initial budget bill requesting NT$610.8 billion (US$16 billion) was slashed to NT$480 billion last year to placate the opposition lawmakers. It was further reduced to NT$340 billion to purchase only the submarines and the sub-hunting aircraft.
The bill was blocked along with another bill requesting a NT$6.3 billion supplementary budget covering NT$200 million for a submarine feasibility assessment, NT$1.7 billion for the P-3Cs in the first year, NT$3.7 billion for he upgrading of the Patriot II missiles, and NT$700 million for building an airstrip on Taiping Island in the Spratly archipelago.
The main opposition Kuomintang (KMT) claimed recently that it would be "inappropriate" to have the NT$6.3 billion supplementary budget included on the legislative agenda shortly after Stephen Young, the Taipei office director of the American Institute in Taiwan, gave what was considered an "ultimatum" urging Taiwan's legislature to pass the defense budget this fall.
The KMT gave an assurance, however, that the supplementary budget will be included in the legislative agenda within the current legislative session.
(By Han Nai-kuo)
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