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Funding for classified programs cut in 2011 defense budget

ROC Central News Agency

2010/08/30 22:16:40

By Su Lung-chi and Lilian Wu

Taipei, Aug. 30 (CNA) The 2011 national defense budget proposal of NT$297.2 billion that was sent to the legislature Monday contained a far less amount for classified programs than the previous year, a ruling party lawmaker said Monday.

Of the total amount, NT$272.7 billion was listed as open funds, while NT$24.5 billion was categorized as funds for classified spending, said Kuomintang Legislator Lin Yu-fang.

This was a significant cut of NT$14.7 billion, or 37.5 percent, in the amount of classified funds compared to the previous annual budget, Lin said.

The budget for classified programs was reduced to 8.25 percent of the total, shrinking it to below 10 percent for the first time, he said.

"The big drop was seen not because budgets have been cut significantly, but because many items that were listed under the classified category were moved to the open category," he said.

"The national defense budget for 2011 could be most transparent in history," he added.

The overall defense budget of NT$297.2 billion was NT$200 million less than the previous year, and represented a 16.6 percent of the 2011 national budget, he said.

Because big payments will have to be made soon in the arms deals with the United States, he said, other weapons procurement spending for 2011 will be less than NT$1 billion -- the lowest in recent years.

As result, several other arms procurement projects have been shelved or canceled, Lin said.

However, military production and research and development of defensive arms has remained steady, he said.

"This shows that the government, while seeking to improve cross-strait relations, has not ignored the importance of strengthening national defense," Lin said.

The Navy has listed an open budget of NT$891,000 to examine tank landing ships in the U.S., which indicates that it may want to lease one or two Newport-class tank landing craft, he said.