Defense Ministry Responds to Procurement Controversy
Taiwan's defense minister defended the ministry's decision to award contracts to a companies without defense histories, promising the contracts were awarded transparently and fairly.
Defense Procurement Under Scrutiny
REPORTER:
How did a furniture company win a bid to import explosives for Taiwan’s military? And why is a shoe company supplying bullet parts?
Lawmakers are asking Defense Minister Wellington Koo tough questions about who the defense ministry is contracting from.
Wellington Koo (DEFENSE MINISTER):
We have followed an open public bidding process and the qualification requirements have been maintained consistently.
We humbly accept oversight from the opposition parties, and as I said everything we have done can stand up to scrutiny.
REPORTER:
The ministry says safeguards are in place for contracts awarded to firms like HomeMax — a furniture maker granted a nearly 20-million-U.S.-dollar contract to import explosives.
It says the company had the required paperwork and that all deliveries are to be inspected before full payment is made.
Still, some opposition lawmakers have questioned why companies with little to no defense experience are being asked to supply the military, and whether safeguards are being enforced.
Hsu Chiao-hsin (LEGISLATOR, KMT):
How many cases in total involved forged import certificates? And when did they occur?
Ling Tao (NEW TAIPEI CITY COUNCILOR, KMT):
A single company managed to go from a business registration change to winning a military procurement contract worth [US$6.3 million] in just 41 days.
REPORTER:
It comes after Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te proposed a $40 billion US dollar special defense budget in November, and while it has yet to be approved it could signal further changes for Taiwan's military.
The defense ministry says that building partnerships with private local companies is vital to its plans to develop its next generation of weapons domestically.
REPORTER:
Procurement is central to Taiwan’s plans for military buildup. But with the Lai administration proposing billions more spending, the defense ministry is facing far closer scrutiny over who it buys from.
