Overview
- Taiwan’s opposition-controlled parliament has refused to advance President Lai Ching-te’s $40 billion special defense budget and is moving forward with a Taiwan People’s Party alternative capped at $12.7 billion.
- The reduced package would fund only five of eight U.S.-approved systems and excludes the proposed T-Dome multi-layer missile-defense concept questioned by opposition lawmakers on cost and feasibility grounds.
- Lai said continued obstruction would delay critical upgrades and could lead the international community to doubt Taiwan’s determination to defend itself and uphold regional peace.
- U.S. Senators Roger Wicker and Dan Sullivan criticized the cutback, with Sullivan linking his concerns to a concurrent Kuomintang visit to Beijing.
- The Kuomintang said it supports strengthening defenses but insists on rigorous scrutiny of spending and advocates constructive cross-strait dialogue.