臉書粉專「老波 the No-Filter Generalist 」稍早發文踢爆，徐巧芯把美台國防工業會議當成個人秀，所有人都是來這邊討論國防工業，就她自己的投影片放個斗大的宣傳照。有民眾提問，徐巧芯在選舉期間，開記者會抹黑美國 NGO - Spirit of America 「所到之處都發生戰爭」，結果徐竟然在產業會議上開罵民進黨，讓台下許多美國與台灣人士憋笑。
It is my honor to attend this Conference as a member of the Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee in the Legislator Yuan, to share my thoughts on the vision and direction of Taiwan’s defense policy, from a budgetary perspective.
我今天的演講分為三大部分：
• 第一，台灣政治現況。
• 第二，台灣面臨的挑戰。
• 第三，對於國防預算的立場與戰略分析。
My speech today consists of three parts:
• Firstly, Taiwan’s current political situation,
• Secondly, the challenges facing Taiwan,
• And thirdly, my position and strategic analysis on the defense budget.
The first-ever hung parliament in LY’s history, demonstrated the diverse opinions in our society. In our politics, each party will have differences when reviewing the budgets. But in foreign affairs and national defense, we will, for Taiwan, for Taiwan – US security cooperation, be on the right path, and make the right decisions.
I believe, for the security of the Republic of China, and regional stability and peace, we must confront the realities and challenges, to design smart defense budgets.
As the cross-strait relations continue to deteriorate, with it, an increase of the possibility of war and open conflict.The Republic of China must devote as much commitment to defense as possible, in order to prevent and avoid war.
Beijing continues to wage gray zone warfare, including the increasing use of both civilian drones, against Taiwan and the other outer islands such as Kinmen and Matsu.
We in turn, are building a comprehensive detection and counter-drone system, to enhance the reaction time and increase available options for our military.
We must also follow our government’s policy, to make sure our drones will not be using any Mainland brands.
We are also facing the challenge of insufficient manpower in our military. The backbone of our armed forces, the volunteered service men and women, only stand at one hundred and sixty (160) thousand strong.
From the budget books, we see that there is a reduction of five thousand volunteer troops, and it is expected that the number of volunteer will only shrink further.
We are also facing a low birth rate, and recent polls suggest that 60% of the public does not believe a war will occur, and 42% in another poll indicates they expect American intervention if war erupts in the Taiwan Strait, these are the realities challenging our military, as they construct their warfighting capabilities.
Another challenge that must be mentioned, is our energy security. The current government expects by 2025, to let natural gas and coal make up 50% and 30% of our energy structure. This bears serious security risk for Taiwan, according to our government’s data, the liquified natural gas in worse case scenario only has around 7 days of stroage.
Therefore, in order to face climate change, achieve net zero emissions, improve national security, and economic growth, and ensure stable and cheap electricity, I fully support nuclear power, and welcome American assistance in developing Taiwan’s nuclear power.
第三部分：對於國防預算的立場與戰略分析
現在，有關於我對於預算的立場與分析。
Now, on my position regarding the defense budget.
今年國防總預算高達6470億台幣，是史上新高，也佔了我國2.45%的GDP。
This year’s defense budget has reached the highest ever, amounting to 647 billion NTD, roughly 20 billion USD, and 2.45% of our GDP.
首先我會關注的是第一線戰鬥部隊單兵個裝的加強，相關的軍事採購，對基層軍人而言相當重要。
The first I will focus on is the enhancement of individual combat equipment for our first-line troops, the related procurements are important for our troops on the ground.
I also believe the future trend of defense lies in the integration of artificial intelligence and unmanned systems into our platforms and battle orders. This is why Taiwan bought around 1,000 attack drones from the US, so the development and procurement of various unmanned capabilities enjoy support and is an important focus in the LY.
同時，武器交付的時間，延遲的問題，在立法院有比較多的關注與討論，也會造成民眾對美軍購的不信任。
At the same time, the delay of weapon delivery is also widely discussed in the LY, and this will impact our people’s support for arm sales from the US.
我希望持續藉由美方的PDA 方式來儘速加速購買我們所需的上述需求。
I hope the abovementioned capabilities and equipment will accelerate the delivery of the above demands we have.
In addition, Taiwan continues to work on our Indigenous Defense Submarine (IDS) project, but the first prototype has yet to conduct any harbor or sea acceptance tests, we plan on building seven IDS. This year, for the mass production ISD, the government only plans to appropriate 62 million USD, but the entire project has 9 billion USD.
However, given the prototype’s completion could be delayed until the end of 2029, we are very concerned about the mass production model and its 9 billion USD budget. We, of course, aim to build the finest submarines for our navy, to meet the possible risk of a cross-strait conflict. So I hope the US can actively assist and participate in any IDS-related developments.
I believe Taiwan’s effective deterrence against major military threats is not only about how much has been budgeted, but also how to spend this budget. As a member of the opposition party, we will conduct detailed reviews, and ensure the budgets will be implemented in the most effective ways.
The Taiwan–U.S. security partnership, after so many years, will only be ever closer. We appreciate the assistance of the US in its military sales and bilateral security exchanges, but beyond the enhancement of procurements and more interactions, it is ultimately up to us in Taiwan, to construct our defensive capabilities.
再次感謝美台商會邀請我在此做一個分享。
I once again thank the US – US-Taiwan Business Council to kindly invited me in making this speech, and share my thoughts with all of you.
