Taiwan’s Defense Minister Wellington Koo Li-hsiung
United States President Joe Biden announced in July 2023 that he would use the “Presidential Drawdown Authority” (PDA) to provide Taiwan with $345 million in armaments, but the US Department of Defense Supervision Department recently issued a report saying that some of the relevant equipment has expired ammunition, messy packaging, damp and moldy bulletproof vests, etc., in response to which Taiwan’s Defense Minister Wellington Koo Li-hsiung said that the equipment and materials in question only account for a small part of the overall military aid, This batch of military equipment is still extremely helpful to the Taiwan military’s reserve combat capability. In addition, after reacting with the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT), it has also received immediate feedback and treatment, and it should not be discussed as the basis for “doubting the United States”.
A few days ago, the United States Department of Defense monitoring unit conducted an inventory and tracking of the PDA to assist Taiwan in 2023, pointing out that 2.7 million rounds of ammunition were “expired” manufactured in 1983, as well as 3,000 moldy bulletproof plates and 500 moldy tactical vests. In response, the defense department responded to the media during a tea meeting on the 18th, and after the relevant content and the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) reacted, it has received immediate and positive feedback, and will jointly review and deal with it.
Koo Li-hsiung said that this batch of problematic armaments accounts for only a small part of the military aid. Although based on the tacit understanding between Taiwan and the United States, it is impossible to explain the overall content of military aid to the outside world, it is emphasized that this batch of equipment and materials will indeed help and enhance the reserve combat strength of the Taiwan army.
Koo Li-hsiung believes that this is the first time that the United States has made PDA-style military aid to Taiwan, and there may be flaws in the process of delivery, but the United States is not unaware of it, and it should not be used as an argument of “suspicion of the United States.”
Koo Li-hsiung said: “Everyone has been focusing on ammunition and bulletproof vests, so in fact, many parts are very helpful to the improvement of our reserve combat capability, but I think I should also talk too much, I see many media reports often cite this, and then use it as a basis for the theory of doubting the United States.” In fact, some of the projects in it do have their own points worth reviewing, and everyone has to face them together, especially after we reacted, he (the US side) also dealt with them quickly.
Huang wen-chi, director of the Strategic Planning Department of the Ministry of National Defense, added that the huge military aid with a total value of NT$345 million, the relevant ammunition and bulletproof vests really only account for a small part. As for the follow-up handling of the matter, the US side and the Taiwan military have also carried out it in a rapid and strict manner.
Huang wen-chi said: “The attitude of the US side in handling this matter is quite rigorous and very fast, and we will continue to maintain cooperation with the US side in this regard to strengthen and accelerate the acquisition of our necessary combat strength.”
Defense Ministry spokesman Sun Li-fang explained that this batch of equipment is “gratuitous military aid” from the United States, not “military procurement”, and some people in the outside world have confused it and questioned United States’ sale of our expired military products, which must be clarified to the outside world.
美國總統拜登於2023年7月宣布啟用「總統撥款權」（Presidential Drawdown Authority, PDA），向台灣提供3億4500萬美元的軍備。然而，近期美國國防部監察機構發布的報告指出，部分裝備存在問題，包括過期的彈藥、包裝混亂以及潮濕發霉的防彈背心。對此，國防部長顧立雄表示，這些有問題的裝備僅占整體軍援的一小部分，並強調該批軍事裝備對國軍的後備戰力仍有顯著的幫助。此外，顧立雄提到，與美國在台協會（AIT）反映後，已獲得迅速的回應與處理，這不應被解讀為「疑美論」的依據。
美國防部監察單位對2023年PDA援助台灣的軍備進行了盤點，發現其中有270萬發彈藥是1983年製造的過期品，還有3000件發霉的防彈板和500件發霉的戰術背心。顧立雄在18日與媒體的茶敘中表示，這些問題裝備的確存在，但與AIT的反應後，美方已迅速給予正面回饋，並將共同檢討與處理。
顧立雄指出，這批有問題的軍備僅占軍援的一小部分。雖然基於台美之間的默契，無法對外詳細說明整體軍援內容，但他強調這些裝備對國軍的後備戰力提升是明顯的。
顧立雄認為，這是美方首次對台進行PDA式的軍援，雖然在交運過程中可能出現瑕疵，但美方也在積極處理，這不應成為「疑美論」的論據。他表示：「大家都集中在彈藥和防彈背心的問題上，但實際上還有許多部分對我們的後備戰力提升非常有幫助。我不想多說，但我注意到許多媒體引用這些問題來支持疑美論。事實上，某些項目確實需要檢討，我們也在共同面對，特別是我們反映後，美方迅速進行了處理。」
國防部戰略規劃司司長黃文啟補充說，總價3.45億的軍援中，相關的彈藥和防彈背心僅占一小部分。關於後續的處理，美方與國軍已經以快速且嚴謹的方式進行。黃文啟表示：「美方在處理此事上態度相當嚴謹且迅速，我們將持續與美方合作，以加強和加速我們必要戰力的獲得。」
國防部發言人孫立方則指出，這批裝備屬於美方的「無償軍援」，而非「軍事採購」，外界部分人士將其混淆，質疑美國出售過期軍品，這一點需要澄清。
