The head of the PiS club, Mariusz Błaszczak, assessed that the December 13 coalition is not making any progress when it comes to defense cooperation with South Korea. He assessed that one of the basic steps to ensure close relations is the production of K2 tanks in Poland.
The head of the PiS club and former Defense Minister Mariusz Błaszczak was asked in the context of President Andrzej Duda’s visit to South Korea next week for his assessment of current cooperation with this country.
Błaszczak responded that when it comes to defense, he is proud of the fact that when PiS was in power, “these relations were so close.”
I believe one of our successes was that within six months we managed to get both K2 tanks and K9 gun howitzers to Poland. It was a record because of Russian aggression against Ukraine, because of all the problems that came from the war that Russia started. It was also a great achievement when it comes to FA-50 aircraft, within a year we imported these aircraft, they are already equipped with the Polish Air Force
– he said.
The PiS politician also noted that this process has been stopped by those in power today.
The coalition of December 13 is not taking a single step forward
– he assessed.
According to him, one of the basic steps “to ensure that these relations are close is the production of K2 tanks in Poland.”
An order for 1,000 K2 tanks, not 180 as we hear now
– added the PiS-MP.
Błaszczak believed that “it all boils down to the Polish side not taking quick and effective action to ensure contracts are concluded.”
This is extremely important for our security, for the security of our homeland. The Polish army must be numerous and equipped with modern weapons, and what we see in next year’s draft budget is all written in stone.
– he said.
If, of the PLN 180 billion, 60 billion should come from the Armed Forces Support Fund, which should be filled with the issuance of bonds, loans or other financial instruments, and this does not happen this year, this only proves that next year’s budget year is a budget for the presidential elections, and not a real budget that will guarantee the security of our homeland
– said the former head of the Ministry of National Defense.
The head of the Ministry of Defense, Władysława Kosiniak-Kamysz, summarized the ministry’s activities early this month and indicated that Poland will allocate PLN 186.6 billion to defense next year, equivalent to 4.7 percent. GDP. He accused his predecessors in the PiS government of undervaluing the contracts they signed, worth around half a trillion zlotys.
Referring to the issue of equipment procurement in South Korea, the head of the Ministry of National Defense pointed to the recent visit of the Vice Minister responsible for Armaments Paweł Bejda to South Korea, where, among other things, he negotiated: conditions for the polonization of the K2 tanks ordered there.
There was a plan that only the second half of the thousand tanks ordered would be Polonized (including the production of machines in Poland – PAP). And now, in the next tranche that we want to sign, for the second 180 tanks (..), we want 1/3 to be Polonized. We have managed to accelerate the polonization process, these are the results of recent meetings
– said Kosiniak-Kamysz.
MD/PAP
Source: wPolityce
Emma Matthew is a political analyst for “Social Bites”. With a keen understanding of the inner workings of government and a passion for politics, she provides insightful and informative coverage of the latest political developments.