Defense Minister Wellington Koo is warning that a special defense budget bill
unveiled by the KMT could derail the procurement of five weapons systems
approved by Washington for sale to Taiwan.

The KMT proposal sets a budget cap of NT$380 billion and would fund eight US
weapons systems announced for sale to Taiwan late last year.

Koo said the budget ceiling in the KMT bill doesn't account for potential new
arms sales that may be approved for Taiwan in the future.

Koo said the bill requires five of the eight US systems to be fully delivered
by the end of 2028, adding that it's an unrealistic time frame

The special defense budget bills proposed by the Cabinet and the Taiwan
People's Party both set a later deadline of late 2033.

Some weapons Taiwan previously ordered from the US have already fallen
significantly behind schedule. One example is F-16 Block 70 fighter jets,
which are scheduled to be fully delivered by the end of this year. None of
the jets have been received to date due to production-line issues

CNA_JvW