KMT and DPP Clash Over NT$1.25 Trillion Defense Budget as Legislative Showdown Looms
A major political confrontation is escalating in Taiwan's Legislative Yuan as the opposition Kuomintang (KMT) and the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) remain at an impasse over the NT$1.25 trillion (US$38 billion) special defense procurement budget. At the heart of the deadlock is the KMT's insistence that the Ministry of National Defense must first provide formal "pricing letters" (發價書) — official cost quotations from foreign arms suppliers — before lawmakers will authorize the unprecedented spending package.
Defense Minister Wellington Koo (顧立雄) responded with unusual sharpness on Wednesday, calling the KMT's demand "blank authorization in reverse." Koo argued that standard international defense procurement protocols require an approved budget before governments can formally request pricing letters from suppliers. "You don't ask a restaurant for the bill before you've decided to eat there," one defense official told reporters, summarizing the government's position. The Minister also warned that the delay risks sending a damaging signal to allies about Taiwan's commitment to its own defense.
Legislative Yuan President Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜) convened a fourth round of cross-caucus negotiations on Wednesday in a bid to break the deadlock, but the talks ended without resolution. The KMT caucus, led by Chair Cheng Li-wen (鄭麗文) and whip Freddy Lim (傅崐萁), has proposed a framework capping total spending at approximately NT$800 billion, to be disbursed in two tranches: an initial NT$300–400 billion based on existing U.S. Foreign Military Sales pricing letters, with a second tranche contingent on additional documentation from Washington.
The standoff has also exposed divisions within the opposition. Taiwan People's Party (TPP) Chairman Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌) publicly accused the DPP of duplicity, claiming the ruling party demanded the full NT$1.25 trillion in formal negotiations while privately approaching the TPP for a compromise figure of NT$860 billion. Meanwhile, the Presidential Office warned that both opposition versions of the bill exclude critical domestic defense supply chain provisions, including Taiwan's emerging drone manufacturing industry — a sector the government has prioritized as essential for asymmetric defense capabilities against a potential Chinese blockade or invasion.