Defense Ministry Responds to Procurement Controversy

TaiwanPlus News

Taiwan's defense minister defended the ministry's decision to award contracts to a companies without defense histories, promising the contracts were awarded transparently and fairly.

Transcript

00:00How did a furniture maker win a bid to import explosives?

00:04And how is a shoemaker supplying bullet parts?

00:07Defense Minister Wellington Koo is answering tough questions from lawmakers

00:11about who exactly the Defense Ministry is contracting from.

00:14We are all working on a public loan.

00:17We are also working on the money.

00:21I think that we have to be able to understand any of the authorities.

00:27The Ministry says safeguards are in place for contracts awarded to firms like HomeMax,

00:34a furniture maker granted a nearly $20 million contract to import explosives.

00:39It says the company had the required paperwork

00:41and that all deliveries are to be inspected before full payment is made.

00:45Still, some opposition lawmakers have questioned why companies

00:48with little to no defense experience are being asked to supply the military

00:51and whether safeguards are being enforced.

00:54It comes after Taiwanese President Lai Qingde proposed a $40 billion US special defense budget in November.

01:14And while it has yet to be approved, it could signal further changes to Taiwan's military.

01:19The Defense Ministry says that building partnerships with private local companies is vital to its plans

01:24to develop its next generation of weapons domestically.

01:27Procurement is central to Taiwan's military buildup.

01:30But with the Lai administration proposing billions more in spending,

01:33the Defense Ministry will face far more scrutiny about who it buys from.

01:37Joseph Wu and Larry Ciano for Taiwan Plus.

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