Seemingly endless political wrangling, the obvious election-year mentality shown by Taiwan politicians, and having the government’s general operating budget – of which the defense budget is a part – trapped in the Legislative Yuan (LY) due to disagreements over the composition of the Central Election Commission (CEC) made for a frustrating first quarter of 2007. Nevertheless, meaningful progress continues to be made in Taiwan in many areas of interest to the defense and national security community both in Taiwan and abroad.
This quarterly report provides a summary of major political developments over the past three months, developments that will shape the playing field for important defense and national security issues – or indeed for all of Taiwan’s significant public policy decisions – in the coming year. The report also includes the usual review of the status of defense policy matters in Taiwan, an update on the defense budget, notes on U.S.-Taiwan security cooperation during the quarter, and an update on the major Taiwan procurement programs.
Executive Summary: Taiwan Defense & Security Report – Q1, 2007