00:03A step towards strengthening Taiwan's defense.
00:07On Thursday, Taiwan's legislature discussed the letters of offer and acceptance,
00:12key paperwork for four weapon systems they intend to buy from the U.S.
00:19On the list, TOW missiles, Javelin anti-tank missiles,
00:23self-propelled howitzers, and HIMARS rocket systems.
00:54The weapon systems are part of a proposed $40 billion U.S.
00:59special defense budget, which has been stalled in the legislature for months.
01:03But with that large budget unlikely to pass anytime soon,
01:07the defense ministry is asking lawmakers to grant advance authorization
01:11for these specific weapons to meet the U.S.'s deadlines.
01:15While some consensus has been reached,
01:17the ruling Democratic Progressive Party,
01:20the party that put forward the budget, is not satisfied.
01:31The government is referring to the approval of the LTS-700 drone systems.
01:36The defense ministry has not yet received an offer letter from the U.S. for them,
01:41leading Taiwan's opposition to reject the proposal.
01:44But while Taiwan's legislature continues to debate spending,
01:47China has already outpaced Taiwan's special defense budget,
01:50significantly increasing its own spending.
02:07Taiwan continues to face military pressure from China,
02:11which recently resumed aircraft operations around the main island after a brief pause.
02:16And while a recent Academia Seneca poll suggested that,
02:20even without U.S. assistance,
02:22most Taiwanese people would be willing to resist a Chinese attack,
02:26weapons from the country would certainly help.
02:28That's why attention is fixed on the upcoming U.S. weapons agreement
02:32and the legislature's review of Taiwan's special defense budget.
02:36Fu Hua Hong and Anna Lu for Taiwan Plus.
Comments