Taiwan Opposition Cuts Special Defense Budget by 70%

Taiwan’s nearly $40 billion special defense budget request is in jeopardy as opposition parties advance a sharply reduced proposal through parliament that omits several capabilities deemed critical to deterring and defending against a potential Chinese attack, Gabriel Dominguez reported for The Japan Times.

The two opposition parties hold a majority in the 113-seat legislature and have refused since November to discuss the government’s original proposal. (Photo: 國防部 Ministry of National Defense, ROC(Taiwan) X)

The counterproposal—which would slash President Lai Ching-te’s eight-year defense spending plan by nearly 70%—has raised alarm within Taiwan’s Defense Ministry and drawn concern in Washington as China intensifies military activity around the self-ruled island.

“I’m disappointed to see Taiwan’s opposition parties in parliament slash President Lai’s defense budget so dramatically,” US Sen. Roger Wicker, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, wrote on X.

“The original proposal funded urgently needed weapons systems,” he added, urging lawmakers to “reconsider, especially with rising Chinese threats.”

The Taiwan People’s Party’s (TPP) counterproposal, backed by the Kuomintang (KMT), was fast-tracked by the Legislative Yuan for review.

Together, the two opposition parties hold a majority in the 113-seat legislature and have refused since November to discuss the government’s original proposal.

They have demanded that Lai submit to questioning by lawmakers—a request he rejected.

Since Lai’s Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lacks an outright majority, its proposal must either gain opposition support or be revised through compromise, a process that could take weeks or months and gives the KMT and TPP significant leverage.

“In terms of public narrative, this will be a big challenge for the ruling party,” said Lev Nachman, a political science professor at National Taiwan University. “It will appear as if the TPP is willing to pass a defense budget—meaning it’s not stonewalling—but one that’s smaller than the DPP’s.”