Taipeng’s main opposition party said it will back US$11bil (RM43.3bil) in special funding for US weapons purchases and left the door open to more acquisitions, but insisted it will not write a “blank cheque” for the government.
Taiwan has spent billions upgrading its defences as China increases military pressure.
Under US pressure to spend more, Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te’s government has proposed US$40bil (RM157.6bil) in funding for critical defence purchases, over eight years.
But the Kuomintang (KMT) and the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP), which together control parliament, have stalled Lai’s proposal and instead drawn up their own stripped-down versions of the spending bill.
The KMT said it proposed allocating US$11bil (RM43.3bil) to cover the cost of US arms sales and pledged to review further weapons purchases once they were approved by US Congress.
The TPP previously proposed US$12.6bil (RM49.7bil) for military purchases. The spending bills will be sent to a parliamentary committee for review on Friday.
The United States is Taiwan’s most important security backer, and it has been applying pressure to the KMT and TPP to get behind the government’s spending bill.
But opposition lawmakers have demanded greater transparency and oversight of the government’s planned military purchases.
US President Donald Trump said last month he would decide soon on whether to send more weapons to Taiwan, after Chinese President Xi Jinping warned him not to do so. — AFP
