DEFENSE/Taiwan passes U.S. arms bill with spending ceiling of US$24.8 billion

Taipei, May 8 (CNA) Taiwan's Legislative Yuan has passed a supplementary budget bill to fund the purchase of separate packages of United States military equipment, with the combined amount of spending capped at NT$780 billion (US$24.8 billion).

The opposition Kuomintang (KMT) and Taiwan People's Party (TPP) used their legislative majority to pass a bill with two main funding provisions.

One was for NT$300 billion for arms sales already approved by the U.S. for Taiwan on Dec. 17, 2025; the other was for NT$480 billion for an arms package expected to be announced by Washington in the future.

The bill, which fell short of the NT$1.25 trillion requested by the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) government, passed by a 59-0 margin with 48 abstentions in the 113-seat Legislature.

Legislative approval for disbursing the funding for both provisions is contingent on a legislative review after Taiwan receives letters of offer and acceptance (LOAs) from the U.S. for specific weapons systems.

The package of weapons already approved by the U.S. included High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS), M109A7 self-propelled howitzers, TOW 2B missiles, Altius-700M and 600 drones, and Javelin anti-armor missiles.

The bill did not specify the items that Taiwan anticipates acquiring from the U.S. government in the future, but it did delineate broad categories into which the weapons should fall.

They include "soft- and hard-kill integrated counter-drone systems," anti-ballistic and air defense missiles, medium- and low-altitude air defense systems, and a replenishment program for wartime stockpiles of anti-armor missiles.

Though it was not clear if the opposition-controlled Legislature would approve proposals for an additional weapons package, given the intense partisan wrangling over the bill that has taken place, KMT and TPP legislators on Friday morning voiced support for upcoming arms sales.

The rejection of the Cabinet's NT$1.25 trillion bill, however, meant there will be no funding in this budget for major initiatives involving the local defense industry, including plans to ramp up Taiwan's drone production capacity.