The Executive Yuan plans to allocate a NT$6 billion (US$198 million) budget to fund the government’s New Southbound Policy in fiscal 2018, underscoring President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) administration’s emphasis on the policy.

The Executive Yuan is to discuss and pass the fiscal 2018 budget plan on Thursday before sending the plan to the Legislative Yuan for review, sources said, adding that Premier Lin Chuan (林全) will hold a news conference about the budget following a weekly Cabinet meeting the same day.

To policy has five areas of focus: the cultivation of industrial talent; cooperation in the medical field and the development of an industry chain; boosting cooperation in entrepreneurial industries; fostering regional agricultural development and forming a “new southbound forum”; and the establishment of a platform to encourage interaction among younger people, sources said.

The Executive Yuan plans to set up 16 agricultural demonstration centers in Southeast Asia, sources said, adding that it plans to keep a low profile to prevent Chinese interference.

The budget would be distributed among the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Economic Affairs, the Council of Agriculture and other government agencies, officials said.

The agencies will use the funds to foster talent that would help with the promotion of the policy, the sources said.

Meanwhile, the Cabinet is expected to allocate a budget of NT$331.8 billion to the Ministry of National Defense, increasing NT$10.1 billion from its initial plan.

The increased funding would cover personnel and operations costs, as well as military investments, they said, adding that personnel costs included increased pension and insurance payouts.

The Executive Yuan is expecting an annual income of NT$1.89 trillion in fiscal 2018, up 2.7 percent form this year, sources said, adding that expenditures are expected to reach NT$1.98 trillion, up 0.6 percent from this year.

The budget deficit this year has fallen by NT$38.3 billion from last year, they said.

Social welfare is expected to be the main source of expenditure in fiscal 2018 at NT$489.8 billion, with the defense ministry’s expenditure coming in second, and the Ministry of Education’s expenses coming in third at NT$285.1 billion, sources said, adding that public construction expenses are expected to reach NT$151.5 billion.