Taiwan's parliament approved the government’s signing of four U.S. arms procurement projects worth over 300 billion baht, following officials' warnings that failure to act within the deadline could push Taiwan to the back of the production line and impact national security amid security tensions with China.
Taiwan's parliament passed a resolution allowing the government to sign four U.S. arms procurement agreements after officials warned that missing the specified timeframe could delay production and delivery, potentially affecting relations with the United States.
The resolution was unanimously approved. Parliamentary Speaker Han Kuo-yu stated while reading the resolution that the parliament prioritizes national security above all and is committed to firmly protecting territorial integrity. He also called on the government to prepare detailed reports on the weapons delivery schedule for parliament after signing.
The weapons covered include TOW 2B anti-tank missiles, M109A7 self-propelled howitzers, Javelin missiles manufactured by Lockheed Martin, and HIMARS multiple rocket launcher systems. These are part of a $11.1 billion arms package, about 355 billion baht, announced by the U.S. last December.
Previously, President Lai Ching-te's government sought an additional $40 billion defense budget, but the opposition party, holding the parliamentary majority, expressed concerns about the plan’s details and said it could not approve such a large budget without clear information.
However, both the government and opposition ultimately agreed that national security cannot wait, allowing advance signing before budget review completion to ensure these critical weapons systems would not be canceled or delayed.
This move follows Defense Minister Wellington Koo's warning that the acceptance letter for 82 HIMARS systems sold by the U.S. to Taiwan will expire on 26 March, while other agreements must be signed by 15 March; otherwise, Taiwan risks losing its production slot.
The parliament's formal approval came a day after members from both government and opposition agreed the government could sign the agreements early, even though the budget review process was not yet complete.
Taiwan’s Ministry of Defense expressed gratitude for the parliamentary decision and denied opposition allegations of a lack of transparency, affirming that procurement follows a strict project approval process aligned with military needs.
Members of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party stated that allowing advance signing aims to prevent delays or cancellations in Taiwan’s critical arms acquisitions.
The U.S. government under President Donald Trump pressured allies to increase defense budgets, a stance supported by Taiwan amid China's growing military drills and maneuvers around the island.
China has consistently claimed sovereignty over Taiwan, but Taiwan’s government rejects these claims, insisting that only the Taiwanese people have the right to decide their own future.
. Reuters