The Legislative Yuan is expected to host tense debates when it begins reviewing three competing special budget bills on arms procurement today, including a Cabinet proposal totaling NT$1.25 trillion (US$39.1 billion).
The Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee and Finance Committee are holding joint sessions today, Wednesday and Thursday to review the bills proposed by the Cabinet, the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP).
Today’s session should focus on questioning defense officials on the various measures proposed, while line-by-line reviews of the bills would take place on Wednesday and Thursday, according to the Legislature’s agenda.
The ruling and opposition legislative caucuses were expected to make sure all of their members on the Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee would attend.
The committee consists of seven KMT lawmakers, including Legislative Speaker Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜), seven lawmakers from the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and one TPP legislator.
In addition, the members of the Finance Committee — seven from the KMT, six from the DPP and one from the TPP — are expected to take part in reviewing the special budget bills.
At present, the KMT and TPP together hold a majority of 60 out of 113 seats in the Legislative Yuan, while the DPP holds 51 seats. The remaining two seats are held by KMT-leaning independent lawmakers.
The review process is expected to spark debate and draw considerable attention given the difference in funding proposed in the three bills and the support the US has given to the passage of the Cabinet’s proposal.
The Cabinet’s version of the national defense special act spans eight years and a budget of NT$1.25 trillion.
Since being sent to the legislature for review on Nov. 27, 2025, the Cabinet bill has been repeatedly blocked by the KMT and TPP due to what they said was its lack of transparency, preventing it from being referred to committee before the end of the previous legislative session on Jan. 31.
The TPP’s version was introduced on Jan. 26.
It includes five procurement items, including M109A7 self-propelled howitzers, HIMARS multiple launch rocket systems and anti-armor drone missile systems, capping arms spending at NT$400 billion through 2033 and requiring funding to be allocated on an annual basis.
The KMT’s version was introduced on March 5.
It caps the budget at NT$380 billion and authorizes the Ministry of National Defense (MND) to propose a “second-phase special act” if additional US arms purchases are needed in the future.
The KMT bill stipulates that all procurement projects must be completed by 2028.
Minister of National Defense Wellington Koo (顧立雄) has said that such a timetable was not realistic and would effectively block major procurement programs, including the HIMARS launchers.
The funding provided for in the TPP and KMT bills is enough to cover the US$11.1 billion in arms packages approved for sale to Taiwan by the US in December 2025.
The MND has said that military investment planning follows a program-based budgeting system and that any version of the special budget act must comply with this system to be implemented.
It said the issue is not merely about project items and funding levels. “If one looks only at the funding and ignores the requirements, the entire plan will inevitably be disrupted,” the ministry said.
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