The Legislature voted to pass a scaled-down version of President Lai Ching-te’s (賴清德) proposed special defense budget in its third reading on Friday, May 8. The bill sets a total spending ceiling of NT$780 billion (US$25 billion), with the first round of arms procurement from the United States capped at NT$300 billion (US$9.7 billion) and the second at NT$480 billion (US$15.3 billion).

The law defines the scope of procurement to include M109A7 self-propelled howitzers, HIMARS multiple rocket launchers, anti-drone missile systems, Javelin anti-tank missiles, TOW-2B anti-tank missiles, as well as military items approved by the U.S. government within one year of the act’s implementation. Those may include hybrid soft- and hard-kill counter-drone systems, anti-ballistic and air defense missiles, and anti-tank missile replenishments.

The budget passed by the Legislature is over a third lower than the version originally proposed by Lai, which called for NT$1.25 trillion (US$40 billion) over a period of eight years.