Ministry of National Defense applies for emergency payment for HIMARS down payment; Executive Yuan processing

The down payment of approximately NT$800 million for the HIMARS multiple rocket system is due on May 31. To ensure timely payment, the Ministry of National Defense recently applied for emergency funding for the down payment in accordance with Article 84 of the Budget Act. The Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) stated today that the official document has been submitted to the Executive Yuan and is currently being processed. Premier Cho Jung-tai led Minister of National Defense Wellington Koo and other department heads to the Legislative Yuan on the 19th to present a special report on the "Budget for the Procurement of the First Batch of Price Quotations for Maintaining National Security and Strengthening Asymmetric Combat Capabilities." The Executive Yuan subsequently held an extraordinary meeting on the 20th and passed the "115th Fiscal Year Central Government Special Budget for National Security and Asymmetric Combat Capability Procurement." The first batch of military procurement from the US is budgeted on a one-year basis, with a total requirement of approximately NT$294.99 billion. NT$8.8 billion is budgeted for this year and has been sent to the Legislative Yuan for review. However, since the down payment of approximately NT$800 million for the HIMARS system is due on May 31, the Ministry of National Defense has applied to disburse the down payment under Article 84 of the Budget Act to ensure timely payment. According to Article 84 of the Budget Act, the review procedure for special budgets shall apply mutatis mutandis to the provisions of this Act regarding the general budget. However, in cases falling under the first to third paragraphs of the preceding article, a portion may be paid in advance to meet urgent needs. Regarding the progress of the relevant documents, the DGBAS stated in a written explanation today that Minister Koo had already explained during his report to the Legislative Yuan on the 19th that they would request the Executive Yuan's consent to make the payment in advance, with the funding to be covered by the Ministry of National Defense's annual budget. The document has been submitted to the Executive Yuan and is currently being processed by the DGBAS.