Taiwan Parliament Approves $25 Billion Defence Spending Bill

Taiwan's Parliament approved a $25 billion defence spending bill on Friday, May 8, 2026, with 59 lawmakers voting in favour out of 107 present. The bill, which will be used to purchase US weapons, was announced by the parliamentary speaker after a final vote, following months of political wrangling over defence spending against a potential attack by China.

The Kuomintang (KMT) and the Taiwan People's Party (TPP), which control Taiwan's 113-seat parliament, had proposed a maximum NT$780 billion (nearly $25 billion) for US arms only, falling short of the government's proposed budget of nearly $40 billion.

President Lai Ching-te's government has vowed to increase overall defence spending to more than 3% of GDP this year and had proposed NT$1.25 trillion for weapons purchases, including US arms and Taiwan-made drones.

Lawmakers from the Democratic Progressive Party accused KMT leaders of trying to disarm Taiwan by excluding domestic procurement from the budget.

The approval comes days before US President Donald Trump is due to arrive in Beijing for a summit with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping, who has warned the US against sending more weapons to Taiwan.

The court will not be involved in this matter, but the Taiwanese government will review the budget allocation and prepare for the procurement of the US weapons, with the US-Taiwan security cooperation expected to continue in the coming months.