The Executive Yuan on Thursday approved a draft special act on procurement aimed at enhancing the nation's defense resilience and asymmetric capabilities. Prepared by the Ministry of National Defense, the draft bill will be submitted to the Legislative Yuan for deliberation.
Premier Cho Jung-tai said that in light of the Chinese Communist Party's (CCP) ongoing, multifaceted efforts to harass and threaten Taiwan, our government has been striving to reassure the public of its ability and resolve to safeguard national sovereignty and security. However, in the face of the CCP's increasingly frequent and varied incursions, the nation must further bolster its self-defense capabilities, while making it clear to like-minded partners around the world that Taiwan possesses sufficient strength for them to provide meaningful assistance.
The premier further noted that many countries and regions around the world are currently reassessing and substantially increasing their defense budgets, including the European Union, Germany, the United States, and Indo-Pacific nations such as Australia, New Zealand, Japan, South Korea, and the Philippines. Given Taiwan's key position both in the first island chain and in a highly geopolitically sensitive area, it has even greater reason to enhance its self-defense capabilities.
Premier Cho stated that the special act aims to strengthen democratic defense capabilities and support the development of national defense-related industries. The goal is both to acquire more advanced and sophisticated new armaments and to facilitate the upgrading and transformation of Taiwan's defense and military-related industries, enabling them to become a new engine of economic growth alongside the nation's high-tech sector. The premier emphasized that as countries around the world evaluate global defense production capacity, they increasingly recognize Taiwan as an emerging and crucial force. The government must therefore take prudent initiative to seize this moment, turning external threats into an opportunity for strengthening national capabilities and bolstering industrial growth.