Legislature approves NT$8.8 billion 2026 defense procurement budget

Taipei, May 29 (CNA) Taiwan's Legislature on Friday approved a 2026 special defense procurement budget of more than NT$8.81 billion (US$258.7 million) to fund purchases of five U.S. weapons systems.

The budget bill passed its third reading without opposition.

Lawmakers trimmed NT$2 million in operating expenses from an original Cabinet proposal, approving a budget of NT$8.811 billion. Under the special arms procurement act passed by the Legislative Yuan earlier this month, the entire amount will be financed through government borrowing.

According to the approved budget, NT$3.9 billion will be allocated for M109A7 self-propelled howitzers, NT$2.8 billion for High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS), and NT$1.8 billion for anti-armor drones.

The remaining two weapon systems are Javelin anti-tank missiles and TOW 2B anti-tank missiles, for which NT$160 million and NT$1.4 million have been allocated, respectively.

The passage came two days before the Sunday payment deadline for the HIMARS systems included in the package.

The budget represents the first annual installment under a broader arms procurement framework approved by lawmakers on May 8.

The legislation authorizes up to NT$780 billion (US$26 billion) in spending between 2026 and 2033 for U.S. arms purchases, including NT$300 billion for weapons already approved by Washington and NT$480 billion for a future package that has yet to be formally announced.

Under the law, funding for both arms packages is to be appropriated through annual budgets after Taiwan receives letters of offer and acceptance (LOAs) from the United States for specific weapons systems.

The Executive Yuan approved the first procurement budget on May 20, proposing approximately NT$295 billion in spending for the first batch of U.S. arms purchases, with this year's allocation serving as the initial installment.