Defense Minister Ku Li-hsiung said details of Taiwan-U.S. defense cooperation should not be disclosed to the public

Minister of National Defense Gu Lixiong. (Photo by reporter Xu Yongqing)

The Ministry of National Defense's "Taiwan-U.S. Department of Defense Joint Cooperation Assessment Project" has escalated to a higher level. The U.S. Department of Defense will dispatch expert representatives from the Office of the Under Secretary for Policy (OSW-P) and the defense think tank "The Center for Defense Analysis" (IDA) to the Taiwan Ministry of Defense. However, Kuomintang legislator Ma Wenjun questioned that the relevant budget had soared 12 times, but the Ministry of National Defense failed to explain the details clearly. In this regard, Defense Minister Gu Lixiong stated today (6th) that military and defense exchanges between Taiwan and the United States are indeed getting closer, but the details should not be disclosed to the outside world.

Ma Wenjun recently proposed that the "Taiwan-U.S. Department of Defense Joint Cooperation Assessment Plan" allocated approximately US$410,000 per year from 2012 to 2014; in 2015, the amount was increased to nearly US$5 million, a 12-fold increase in funding in one year. However, in the face of congressional supervision, the Ministry of National Defense did not even clearly explain what the money was spent on, where the authority was, and the related work and responsibilities.

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The Legislative Yuan held a meeting today and invited Executive President Zhuo Rongtai to deliver his policy address and prepare questions. Gu Lixiong was present. Before the meeting, Gu Lixiong said in a joint interview with the media that military and defense exchanges between Taiwan and the United States are indeed getting closer. The actual combat experience of allies and the opinions and evaluations of experts will indeed help us build and enhance combat capabilities. As for the relevant details, it is not appropriate for the Ministry of National Defense to explain more to the outside world.

The US$14 billion arms sales to Taiwan have not yet been approved, but foreign media "Bloomberg" reported that US President Trump will make a decision within a short period of time. Gu Lixiong emphasized that based on the "Taiwan Relations Act" and the "Six Assurances", the United States has repeatedly reiterated that its commitment to strengthening Taiwan's self-defense capabilities has not changed. Therefore, they respect the U.S. process of reviewing arms sales cases and will continue to coordinate with the United States. Currently, they have not received any information about the so-called batches.

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