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Defense budget sees growth over past three years: MND

ROC Central News Agency

2016/05/15 15:41:53

Taipei, May 15 (CNA) Although the funds allocated to national defense from the government's annual budget represented less than 3 percent of Taiwan's gross domestic product (GDP), the country has seen its defense budget trend upwards over the past three years, Ministry of National Defense (MND) spokesman Maj. Gen. Luo Shou-he (羅紹和) said Sunday.

Luo was responding to an annual report recently released on China's military and security developments by the U.S. Department of Defense, which stated that Taiwan's defense spending has dropped to 2 percent of GDP, while China's military spending has risen to 14 times that of Taiwan's.

Meanwhile, media reports said that Taiwan has only seen slight growth rates in its national defense budget in recent years, with its defense budget for the fiscal year of 2016 accounting for only 2.3 percent-2.4 percent of GDP.

Luo said that the ministry has made it clear several times that the government has considered the use of a reserve fund or other sources of funds for major arms procurement deals in the future to bolster its national defense and demonstrate its resolve to maintain an effective self-defense force.

The national defense budget was earmarked to respond to potential enemy threats while taking into consideration the country's military build-up plans, government finances and public opinion, according to the ministry.

It said that the military will continue to build up its defense capability to ensure national security, peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait, based on a strong foundation of financial support.

In response to the U.S.' call for Taiwan to increase its defense spending, a senior military official said that whether the defense budget will increase usually depends on the government's general budget allocations. Taiwan will not engage in an arms race with China, but will focus instead on making optimal use of its available defense budget, the official added.

Therefore, even though Taiwan will increase its defense budget in the future, the growth rate will be limited, the official said, adding that the most important task the new government has to carry out is to ensure stability in the Taiwan Strait, promote economic growth and enhance the country's overall national competitiveness.

(By Hsieh Chia-chen and Evelyn Kao)
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