Taiwan’s opposition-controlled parliament has approved the government’s annual budget, ending a record 266-day political deadlock and preserving funding for a drone programme considered central to the island’s defence strategy amid rising tensions with China.
Lawmakers approved the $93 billion budget late Friday, well beyond the legal deadline, as President William Lai Ching-te’s administration continues to face fierce opposition from parties that control the legislature.
The approved budget retains funding for the development of domestically produced drones, despite an earlier proposal by the main opposition Kuomintang, or KMT, to cut the allocation by 70 percent.
The KMT withdrew the proposed reduction after determining that there was no significant duplication between the drone development and procurement programmes it had initially cited as justification for the cut.
However, several other spending reductions were approved. These include a 60 percent cut to special allowances for heads of government agencies, a 2.5 percent reduction in military equipment and facilities spending, and a 50 percent cut to media policy and publicity budgets.
Before the budget was passed, Taiwan’s government had been operating under a provisional funding mechanism that allowed it to continue paying civil servants and financing essential welfare programmes.
Following the vote, Legislative Speaker Han Kuo-yu said the prolonged budget dispute had contributed to social division and created a constitutional impasse. He urged both the ruling and opposition camps to pursue greater compromise.
The latest development comes after the opposition-controlled legislature in May cut a proposed $40 billion special defence budget by 38 percent. That decision removed funding for domestically produced combat drones, while retaining allocations for arms purchases from the United States.
Taiwan’s military currently operates fewer than 5,000 drones, while China is reported to have ordered close to one million drones for delivery this year. The buildup comes amid a wider regional expansion in drone capabilities, with Ukraine targeting the production of seven million drones in 2026.
Beijing considers Taiwan part of China despite the island’s self-government and has significantly increased military pressure around Taiwan in recent years.
The approval of the budget therefore provides some relief for President Lai’s administration, while highlighting the continuing political divisions over how Taiwan should finance and strengthen its defence capabilities.
