TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense (MND) has proposed building a new high security lab for developing chemical and biological weapons over the next five years, according to a ministry statement made on Monday, Jan. 7.
The MND has proposed spending NT$58 million (US$1.8 million) to enhance an existing biosafety laboratory located in New Taipei City’s Sanxia (三峽) District, which is already a Level Four biochemical lab.
Facilities rated Level Four according to World Health Organization Protocols are considered the most secure facilities capable of handling extremely hazardous biological materials.
There are less than 30 such Level Four facilities in the entire world. The facility in New Taipei is operated by the Institute of Preventive Medicine Research at the National Defense University.
The funds for the upgraded facility are only part of a much larger budget plan of NT$495.6 million (US$16 million), which the Ministry says will provide Taiwan with the defense capabilities it needs to counter biological weapons potentially being developed by China.
The proposed funds, to be spent over the course of five years would go towards the facility upgrade, as well as the purchase of new equipment, and go towards the training and funding of researchers to conduct research crucial to Taiwan’s national defense as well as general health safety to prevent and contain disease epidemics.
An MND official stated that China has recently begun operations at a Level Four Bio-research facility, the Wuhan Institute of Virology, reports Liberty Times. Before China opened the institute only Japan and Taiwan maintained Level Four facilities in East Asia.
Such facilities are essential assets for doing research on the most dangerous diseases and work to counter potential biological and chemical threats to society.
The statement from the MND says that China’s advances in the field of biological warfare may put Taiwan and other nations at risk, which is why the ministry has made research into biological weapons and defense a top priority.
