Legislative Yuan passes arms procurement bill; US lawmakers: strengthens Taiwan's deterrence against China
Taiwan's Legislative Yuan passed a special arms procurement act worth NT$780 billion, aiming to strengthen the island's deterrent capabilities against China. US Senators Jeanne Shaheen and John Curtis welcomed the decision, while also encouraging Taiwan to continue investing in asymmetric warfare and indigenous defense production.
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- 📰 Published: May 9, 2026 at 09:25
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(Central News Agency reporter Hou Tzu-ying, Washington, 8th) The Legislative Yuan passed a NT$780 billion special arms procurement act. US federal senators stated today that this budget will strengthen Taiwan's deterrence against China's provocative actions, and they look forward to Taiwan's leaders continuing to invest in strengthening asymmetric warfare capabilities and indigenous defense production. The US Congress will continue to support Taiwan's self-defense capabilities and maintain stability in the Taiwan Strait.
The Legislative Yuan passed the "Special Act for the Procurement of National Security and Asymmetric Warfare Capability Enhancement Plans" concerning arms procurement from the US, with a total budget ceiling of NT$780 billion, of which the first wave of US arms procurement budget ceiling is NT$300 billion, and the second wave is NT$480 billion.
US Senators Jeanne Shaheen, a Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and John Curtis, a Republican, issued a statement today welcoming this. They stated that this budget will strengthen Taiwan's deterrence against China's increasingly serious provocative actions.
The Foreign Relations Committee issued a press release stating that the two senators recently visited Taiwan, met with Legislative Yuan leaders during their visit, and urged support for this budget. After the visit, the lawmakers wrote to Legislative Yuan President Han Kuo-yu of the Kuomintang and other lawmakers, not only supporting Taiwan's procurement of US-made weapons but also supporting Taiwan's investment in accelerating the domestic production of asymmetric warfare capabilities.
The senators' statement said: "Taiwan's passage of this special defense budget sends a strong signal of determination at a critical moment for peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region."
The statement pointed out that this vote proves that Taiwan is seriously addressing the urgent need to strengthen its defense in the face of Beijing's increasing military coercion and pressure. "We also look forward to Taiwan's leaders taking further measures to strengthen investment in asymmetric warfare capabilities and indigenous defense production, which remain crucial for long-term deterrence."
The lawmakers also said that the partnership between the US and the people of Taiwan is "rock solid," and "the US Congress will continue to support Taiwan's self-defense capabilities and maintain stability in the Taiwan Strait."
President Lai Ching-te last year proposed an additional defense budget of US$40 billion (approximately NT$1.25 trillion) over eight years to counter China, but this was blocked by the Kuomintang-led opposition, which pushed for a scaled-down KMT version of the proposal.
The Ministry of National Defense pointed out that the Legislative Yuan's passage of the NT$780 billion arms procurement act completely excluded commercial procurements and commissioned cases, which harms the integrity of national defense construction planning. Among them, the "Strong Bow" medium-range anti-ballistic missile, originally planned to be developed by NCSIST (National Chung-Shan Institute of Science and Technology), was deleted from the special budget. If it cannot be acquired in time, it will seriously affect air defense combat effectiveness.
In addition, the Ministry of National Defense stated that four types of drones, including the Swift Hawk II maritime search tactical drone, vertical take-off and landing drones, coastal surveillance drones, coastal attack drones, small suicide drones, portable anti-drone systems, and mobile obstruction equipment, are not only critical combat capabilities for defensive operations but also cornerstones for establishing a domestic drone industry chain and strengthening indigenous defense capabilities. If all of these are deleted, the military's progress in building asymmetric warfare capabilities will be significantly delayed, and the development of the domestic drone industry will be affected. (Editor: Chen Hui-ping) 1150509
The Legislative Yuan passed the "Special Act for the Procurement of National Security and Asymmetric Warfare Capability Enhancement Plans" concerning arms procurement from the US, with a total budget ceiling of NT$780 billion, of which the first wave of US arms procurement budget ceiling is NT$300 billion, and the second wave is NT$480 billion.
US Senators Jeanne Shaheen, a Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and John Curtis, a Republican, issued a statement today welcoming this. They stated that this budget will strengthen Taiwan's deterrence against China's increasingly serious provocative actions.
The Foreign Relations Committee issued a press release stating that the two senators recently visited Taiwan, met with Legislative Yuan leaders during their visit, and urged support for this budget. After the visit, the lawmakers wrote to Legislative Yuan President Han Kuo-yu of the Kuomintang and other lawmakers, not only supporting Taiwan's procurement of US-made weapons but also supporting Taiwan's investment in accelerating the domestic production of asymmetric warfare capabilities.
The senators' statement said: "Taiwan's passage of this special defense budget sends a strong signal of determination at a critical moment for peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region."
The statement pointed out that this vote proves that Taiwan is seriously addressing the urgent need to strengthen its defense in the face of Beijing's increasing military coercion and pressure. "We also look forward to Taiwan's leaders taking further measures to strengthen investment in asymmetric warfare capabilities and indigenous defense production, which remain crucial for long-term deterrence."
The lawmakers also said that the partnership between the US and the people of Taiwan is "rock solid," and "the US Congress will continue to support Taiwan's self-defense capabilities and maintain stability in the Taiwan Strait."
President Lai Ching-te last year proposed an additional defense budget of US$40 billion (approximately NT$1.25 trillion) over eight years to counter China, but this was blocked by the Kuomintang-led opposition, which pushed for a scaled-down KMT version of the proposal.
The Ministry of National Defense pointed out that the Legislative Yuan's passage of the NT$780 billion arms procurement act completely excluded commercial procurements and commissioned cases, which harms the integrity of national defense construction planning. Among them, the "Strong Bow" medium-range anti-ballistic missile, originally planned to be developed by NCSIST (National Chung-Shan Institute of Science and Technology), was deleted from the special budget. If it cannot be acquired in time, it will seriously affect air defense combat effectiveness.
In addition, the Ministry of National Defense stated that four types of drones, including the Swift Hawk II maritime search tactical drone, vertical take-off and landing drones, coastal surveillance drones, coastal attack drones, small suicide drones, portable anti-drone systems, and mobile obstruction equipment, are not only critical combat capabilities for defensive operations but also cornerstones for establishing a domestic drone industry chain and strengthening indigenous defense capabilities. If all of these are deleted, the military's progress in building asymmetric warfare capabilities will be significantly delayed, and the development of the domestic drone industry will be affected. (Editor: Chen Hui-ping) 1150509