Taiwan’s Legislature Passes US$24.8 Billion Special Defense Budget, Leaving Critical Defense-Autonomy Gaps
On May 8, 2026, Taiwan’s Legislative Yuan passed a NT$780 billion (US$24.8 billion), eight-year supplementary defense budget covering the period through 2033. The vote ended months of legislative deadlock over President Lai Ching-te’s original NT$1.25 trillion (approximately US$40 billion) comprehensive defense package.
Backed by the opposition Kuomintang (KMT) and Taiwan People’s Party (TPP), the final bill reduced the proposed funding by nearly 40%, prioritizing select U.S. arms procurement while deliberately excluding critical domestic defense initiatives that could have been passed concurrently.
Criticizing the Taiwan opposition’s boycott of these critical domestic defense initiatives, the U.S. Department of State warned that any “further delays in funding the remaining proposed capabilities” would represent a “concession” to China.
Budget Breakdown
The final bill allocates funding across two main tracks:
- NT$300 billion for arms sales already approved by the U.S. as of December 2025, including High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS), M109A7 self-propelled howitzers, TOW 2B missiles, Altius-700M and 600 drones, and Javelin anti-armor missiles.
- The remaining NT$480 billion is reserved for anticipated future U.S. arms packages, covering categories such as integrated counter-drone systems; medium- and low-altitude air defense systems; anti-ballistic and air defense missiles; and wartime anti-armor missile stockpile replenishment. The expected package could reportedly cost about US$14 billion and include PAC-3 MSE interceptors and National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile Systems (NASAMS), among other systems.
The Crucial Gaps That Remain
However, analysts warned that by rejecting the Cabinet’s comprehensive US$40 billion version, the opposition coalition left out key elements of Taiwan’s broader defense transformation plan, including funding for:
- Expanded local drone production and unmanned surface vessels (USVs);
- U.S.-Taiwan joint R&D, C5ISR upgrades, and “non-red” supply-chain development; and
- Defense autonomy programs such as the “T-Dome” (Taiwan Shield) integrated air defense concept.
In a May 8 statement, U.S. Senators Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and John Curtis (R-UT) noted the unfinished work ahead, stating they “look forward to additional steps by Taiwan’s leaders to further strengthen investments in asymmetric capabilities and domestic defense production, which remain essential to long-term deterrence.”
What Comes Next
The passage of the reduced budget, to some extent, underscores Taiwan’s commitment to U.S. arms procurement for self-defense. However, the final approved funding is significantly narrower than the Executive Yuan’s original proposal, creating key defense gaps that disregard the public sentiment expressed in recent polls. These surveys show broad public support for stronger defense spending and resolve, including over 60% support for the government’s original defense budget, 53.9% support for raising defense spending to 3% of GDP, and 58.7% of respondents expressing a willingness to fight even without U.S. intervention.
Against this backdrop, the Formosan Association for Public Affairs (FAPA) urges that Taiwan’s opposition-controlled Legislative Yuan swiftly pass the remaining defense funding needed to close gaps in domestic defense production, unmanned systems, defense autonomy, and long-term combat sustainment.
Sources:
[1] Focus Taiwan [2] Taipei Times [3] Taipei Times [4] Taipei Times [5] Senate Foreign Relations Committee (Ranking Member Jeanne Shaheen’s Press) [6] Taipei Times
Senate Resolution Signals Bipartisan Resolve Against Chinese Threats Before High-Stakes Summit
Senate Foreign Relations Committee Ranking Member Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), East Asia Subcommittee Ranking Member Chris Coons (D-DE), and Subcommittee Chairman Pete Ricketts (R-NE) led a bipartisan resolution affirming serious concern over the growing threats posed by China to U.S. national security and economic prosperity. Introduced on April 30, 2026, ahead of the May 14–15 U.S.-China summit in Beijing, the resolution (S.Res.716) expresses a significant bipartisan warning at a pivotal moment for U.S.-China relations.
Sen. Coons sponsored the resolution alongside 15 other senators from key committees including Foreign Relations, Armed Services, Homeland Security, Finance, and Appropriations. The resolution calls for a sustained U.S. focus on strengthening deterrence in the Indo-Pacific, protecting American workers and businesses from unfair economic practices, maintaining U.S. leadership in artificial intelligence and other emerging technologies, and supporting allies and partners.
Most critically, it reaffirms the importance of preserving peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait — guided by the Taiwan Relations Act and the Six Assurances — while advancing human rights and democratic values as core elements of U.S. policy toward China.
Why It Matters
In the run-up to the U.S.-China summit, Coons warned that the U.S. Senate is sending a clear message: “Remember who Xi Jinping and the PRC are.” He added that the United States must stand firm with allies and partners and use “every tool” of government to counter Beijing’s aggressive practices.
The resolution explicitly highlights China’s coercive efforts to change the status quo across the Taiwan Strait, including by delaying or denying third-party involvement in a potential Taiwan Strait contingency. It also notes Beijing’s use of influence to obstruct Taiwan’s participation in global forums.
Ricketts added that “Communist China is the greatest threat to the American way of life,” stressing the urgent need for deterrence and for the United States to stand with partners and allies threatened by Beijing’s aggression.
Looking Forward
Trump is scheduled to visit China on May 14–15 for a summit with Xi Jinping, their first meeting since they met in Busan, South Korea, in October 2025. While there remains a high degree of uncertainty over the summit’s agenda and potential outcomes, likely points of discussion include trade imbalances, high-end semiconductors, rare earths, the ongoing Iran war, and Taiwan — underscoring the wide range of security and economic tensions shaping U.S.-China relations.
Sources:
[1] Senate Foreign Relations Committee [2] Taipei Times [3] S.Res.716 (Bipartisan Resolution Addressing Chinese Threats) [4] Focus Taiwan [5] Reuters
Zambia Cancels World’s Largest Human Rights Summit Following Chinese Pressure to Exclude Taiwanese Activists
On May 1, 2026, Access Now, the organizer of RightsCon 2026 — the world’s largest human rights and technology summit — confirmed that the conference would not proceed in Zambia or online. This follows the Zambian government unilaterally decision to “postponed” the event just days before it was scheduled to begin in Lusaka.
The decision was made after the Zambian government capitulated to blatant pressure from diplomats of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) to exclude Taiwanese civil society participants from the event and censor discussions deemed unfavorable to Beijing. Access Now rejected these demands as “a clear red line,” refusing to compromise the summit’s core values of inclusion and freedom of expression.
Why It Matters
The cancellation of RightsCon 2026 is a stark illustration of the PRC’s transnational repression and diplomatic coercion. Through these tactics, Beijing uses its vast economic and political influence to pressure sovereign countries like Zambia into marginalizing Taiwan and silencing international dissent in both physical and digital spaces.
U.S. House Select Committee on the CCP Chairman John Moolenaar (R-MI) recently highlighted China’s extensive political and financial influence in Zambia in a report titled “China’s Minerals Mafia.” As the report explains, by leveraging Zambia’s heavy dependence on Belt and Road Initiative investments and Chinese-owned infrastructure, Beijing has successfully pressured the Zambian government to restrict fundamental freedoms of assembly and expression.
Implications
The cancellation of RightsCon 2026 represents a significant setback for global civil society and is a chilling example of how authoritarian regimes exploit economic coercion to silence human rights advocates and stifle discourse on issues such as digital surveillance and transnational repression.
The forced cancellation of the summit — which stands in stark contrast to the successfully held RightsCon 2025 in Taipei, Taiwan — underscores the growing threat to the integrity of neutral international platforms and the safety of the participants they host.
Ultimately, the incident has raised broader concerns about the expanding reach of Chinese diplomatic coercion, demonstrating how economic and political influence is being weaponized not only to restrict civic space, but also to systematically erode fundamental human rights and democratic norms globally.
Sources:
[1] Access Now [2] Human Rights Watch [3] Focus Taiwan [4] House Select Committee on the CCP [5] Taipei Times
