TAIPEI, May 14 (Reuters) – Taiwan’s government said on Thursday it was considering resubmitting its request to Congress given the importance to Taiwan’s security of items that lawmakers cut from the special defense budget.
Taiwan’s opposition-controlled parliament last week approved only two-thirds of the $40 billion special defense budget requested by President Lai Ching-te to fund U.S. weapons purchases but cut domestic projects such as drones.
A senior U.S. official said on Sunday the U.S. was disappointed that defense spending approval was lower than Washington believed was needed.
Lai has made increasing defense spending a priority, something Washington strongly supports, to better deter China, which considers democratically governed Taiwan its own territory.
Taiwan Cabinet spokesperson Michelle Reis told reporters in Taipei that Prime Minister Zhao Chengtai was concerned about the impact on the military’s overall modernization plan, including the elimination of funding for anti-ballistic missile systems.
Lee said the prime minister therefore asked the Defense Ministry to study whether to submit requests for rejected projects in the form of a supplementary budget or to expand the size of the existing annual budget.
The inability to fully fund the government’s plans “severely undermines the integrity of the defense force’s construction,” she added, citing Cao’s comments to the cabinet.
The renewed discussion of defense spending comes at an especially awkward time given that U.S. President Donald Trump is due to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing this week. The Trump administration strongly supports Taiwan’s focus on strengthening its military capabilities.
Xi Jinping told Trump on Thursday that differences on the Taiwan issue could put relations between the two countries on a dangerous path and that “Taiwan independence” and peace across the Taiwan Strait are “incompatible.”
In response, Lee said she believed China’s military threat was “the only source of insecurity in the Taiwan Strait and the broader Indo-Pacific region.” “Continuous strengthening of national defense and effective collective deterrence are the most critical factors in ensuring regional peace and stability,” she added.
In December, Washington announced an $11 billion arms sales package to Taiwan, the largest package in history.
According to previous reports from Reuters, Trump may announce a second package worth approximately US$14 billion after returning to the United States from his trip to China this week.
China demands that the United States stop selling arms to Taiwan.
(Reporting by Ben Blanchard; Editing by Jamie Freed)