Taiwan’s parliament ends impasse, making certain very important drone programme funding amid rising cross-strait tensions with Beijing.
Printed On 15 Aug 2026
Taiwan’s opposition-controlled parliament has accepted the federal government’s annual funds, preserving funding for a drone programme central to the island’s defence plans towards China.
Lawmakers handed the $93bn funds late on Friday, after a report 266 days of political impasse and its authorized deadline, as President William Lai Ching-te’s administration, which misplaced its parliamentary majority in 2024, continues to conflict with opposition events over authorities spending.
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The accepted funding was earmarked for drone growth, regardless of an earlier menace by the primary opposition celebration, the Kuomintang, to slash that funding by 70 %.
The Kuomintang dropped the proposed lower after concluding there was no wasteful overlap between the event and procurement programmes it had initially cited as justification.
Different reductions included a 60 % lower to particular allowances for presidency company heads, a 2.5 % lower to navy gear and amenities spending, and a 50 % lower to media coverage and publicity budgets.
Earlier than Friday’s vote, the federal government had been working underneath a provisional funds mechanism to maintain paying civil servants and funding welfare programmes.
Legislative Speaker Han Kuo-yu, following the vote, mentioned the extended delay had brought on “social division and a constitutional deadlock”.
He referred to as on each the ruling and opposition camps to hunt larger compromise going ahead.
Lai mentioned in a press release that parliamentary oversight and overview of the funds are an vital constitutional obligation.
In Could, the identical opposition-controlled legislature lower a proposed $40bn particular defence funds by 38 %, stripping out all funding for domestically produced fight drones and leaving solely United States arms purchases intact.
Taiwan’s navy presently holds fewer than 5,000 drones, whereas China is reported to have ordered near 1,000,000 for supply this 12 months, a part of a broader regional buildup that features Ukraine’s goal of seven million drones in 2026.
Beijing claims self-ruled Taiwan as its personal territory and has sharply escalated military pressure on the island in recent times.
