Taiwan Defence Minister rejects opposition’s cut‑price budget and US arms deadline

He said the government's proposal has the backing of the US administration and Congress. Read more at straitstimes.com.

TAIPEI – Taiwan’s Defence Minister Wellington Koo on March 6 rebuffed the main opposition party, which had proposed a defence budget roughly one-third of the amount sought by the government and set a deadline for US arms purchases that he said was impossible.

Taiwan has faced pressure from the US to sharply raise defence spending. Taiwan President Lai Ching-te in 2025 proposed extra defence spending of US$40 billion (S$51.1 billion) to counter China, which has ramped up military pressure to force the island to accept its claim of sovereignty.

But the main opposition Kuomintang (KMT), which together with a smaller party holds a majority in Parliament, refused to review the proposal and instead this week advanced its own, less expensive proposals, which fund only around 30 per cent of the spending that Mr Lai wants.

The move came after growing pressure from politicians in the US, Taiwan’s most important international backer and arms supplier, to not hold up spending.

In the KMT’s counterproposal, a copy of which was reviewed by Reuters, the party set a cap of T$380 billion (S$15.32 billion) on the spending and a deadline for completion by the end of 2028.

Speaking to reporters in Taipei, Mr Koo said the government’s proposal included precision artillery and anti-armour unmanned systems.