Taiwan opposition backs $14b for US arms, but no ‘blank cheque’

Lai Ching-te’s government proposed US$40b (S$51b) in funding for critical defence purchases. Read more at straitstimes.com.

Taipei - Taiwan’s main opposition party said on March 5 it will back US$11 billion (S$14 billion) in special funding for US weapons purchases and left the door open to more acquisitions, but insisted it will not write a “blank cheque” for the government.

Taiwan has spent billions upgrading its defences as China increases military pressure on the island, which Beijing claims is part of its territory and has threatened to seize by force.

Under US pressure to spend more, Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te’s government has proposed US$40 billion in funding for critical defence purchases, including US arms, over eight years.

But the Kuomintang (KMT) and the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP), which together control Parliament, have stalled Mr Lai’s proposal and instead drawn up their own stripped-down versions of the spending bill.

The KMT said it proposed allocating US$11 billion to cover the cost of US arms sales announced in December and pledged to review further weapons purchases once they were approved by US Congress.

The TPP previously proposed US$12.6 billion for military purchases. The three spending Bills will be sent to a parliamentary committee for review on March 6.