By AFP and Focus | 2026-05-13

TAIPEI -- Taiwan's parliament has approved a $25 billion defense spending bill that opposition lawmakers say will be used exclusively for U.S. weapons, following months of political wrangling between parliament and the government. The opposition controls parliament.

The result was announced on May 8 after a final vote in which 59 of the 107 lawmakers present voted in favor. The bill falls well short of the government's proposed budget of 1.25 trillion NTD ($39.81 billion) for supplemental arms purchases over eight years.

The spending in the bill falls outside the regular defense budget.

Taiwanese lawmakers have been at loggerheads over how much to spend on strengthening defenses against a potential Chinese attack. Beijing claims the island as part of its territory and has threatened to seize it by force.

President Lai Ching-te described the vote as a hard-won breakthrough after nearly six months of negotiations — a step, he wrote on Facebook, that was not easy to take. But he cautioned against treating it as a complete solution.

"This is only the first step -- it is not yet the full answer," he said, urging the legislature to continue negotiations and ensure none of Taiwan's critical defense capabilities are left behind.

Opposition's limits

Cheng Li-wun, chairperson of Taiwan's main opposition party, the Kuomintang (KMT), said the approved funds were intended solely for U.S. arms purchases.

"Taiwan's national security must stand firmly on two legs. ⁠One is a sufficiently strong defense capability, and the other is the unceasing effort and determination to pursue cross-strait peace," Cheng told reporters, according to Reuters. She visited China in April for talks with President Xi Jinping.

The opposition passed its own version of the supplemental package, limiting the spending to U.S. arms purchases and rejecting Lai's broader proposal.

Months of infighting had divided the KMT. Cheng initially pushed for a smaller allocation of 380 billion NTD ($12.1 billion) before senior KMT lawmakers, facing mounting pressure from Washington, demanded a significantly higher figure.

Arms pipeline

The spending bill comes as Taiwan prepares for additional U.S. arms purchases following Washington's record $11.1 billion arms package announced in December, which included High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS), M109A7 self-propelled howitzers, Javelin anti-armor missiles and TOW 2B missiles.

Reuters has reported that a second package worth about $14 billion could follow after U.S. President Donald Trump returns from a summit with Xi in Beijing.

Ahead of the vote, KMT caucus leader Fu Kun-chi said the party was "willing to fully support" a second phase of arms sales worth more than $15 billion, including "Patriot missiles, Hellfire (missiles) and related counter-drone defense systems."

Domestic drone production, defense supply chains and joint U.S.-Taiwan research and development projects remain subject to further legislative negotiations.

The result was a "huge blow to Lai," said Lev Nachman, a political science professor at National Taiwan University, according to AFP. "This is much less than (his) proposed budget, but it is still greater than zero."

Taiwan analyst Wen-Ti Sung said the KMT had shown just enough commitment to U.S.-Taiwan security cooperation to "silence doubters" of the party, including in Washington, but "not too much to ruffle feathers in Beijing."

Washington signal

Stability in the Taiwan Strait serves the interests of all sides, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on May 8 after parliament approved the bill.

"We think it's to the benefit of China, the United States, and the world writ large that there be stability in the straits there, and that continues to be our position," Rubio told reporters.

Washington continues to frame support for Taiwan as part of broader regional stability.

Passage of the bill came days before Trump arrived in Beijing for his summit with Xi, who has warned Washington against sending more weapons to Taiwan.