Taipei: The legislative caucus of Taiwan’s main opposition party announced plans to propose a special defense budget bill totaling NT$350 billion (US$11.04 billion) to fund eight weapons sales announced by the United States in December. Speaking at a news conference in the Legislature, Kuomintang (KMT) caucus secretary-general Lin Pei-hsiang expressed full support for the eight systems listed in the U.S. foreign military sales announced on Dec. 17.

According to Focus Taiwan, the proposed arms sales include High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS), Javelin missiles, Altius-700M and Altius-600 drones, TOW missiles, M109A7 self-propelled howitzers, C5ISR systems, Harpoon missile follow-on support, and helicopter parts, totaling US$11.1 billion. In contrast, the Cabinet’s special defense budget bill amounts to NT$1.25 trillion and encompasses not only the eight systems but also potential U.S. arms sales that have not been notified to Congress and procurement plans involving domestic manufacturers.

Lin st
ated that, in the event of a follow-on foreign military sales package, the bill mandates the Ministry of National Defense to draft a matching special budget bill and submit it to the Legislature promptly. He emphasized a phased approach to arms procurement, aiming for concrete and transparent progress rather than a one-time authorization.

The proposal was made amid pressure from Washington over the opposition parties’ blocking of the sales. Senior KMT members, including Taichung Mayor Lu Shiow-yen and Legislative Speaker Han Kuo-yu, have expressed concern over potential negative impacts on Taiwan-U.S. relations. The KMT caucus, along with the Taiwan People’s Party caucus, has blocked the review of the Cabinet’s bill multiple times, citing opaque budget contents.

Lin rejected accusations that the KMT had obstructed the arms sales, stating that their bill aims to differentiate between foreign military sales and direct commercial sales, which have been linked to corruption scandals in the past. The KMT plans t
o sponsor the bill after final adjustments.