Taipei: The ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and the main opposition Kuomintang (KMT) clashed Friday over how to fund weapons systems recently excluded from a supplementary budget bill, after the Cabinet said it was considering three options to pay for the equipment.

According to Focus Taiwan, the Legislature recently passed an opposition-backed supplementary defense budget bill with a spending cap of NT$780 billion (US$24.7 billion) to fund weapons approved for sale to Taiwan by the United States. This bill excluded domestic contract production programs and foreign direct commercial sales, leaving out key equipment such as drones, unmanned surface vessels, counter-drone systems, anti-ballistic missiles, and Taiwan Tactical Network (TTN) and Team Awareness Kit (TAK) systems. Premier Cho Jung-tai stated the Cabinet is considering submitting another supplementary budget bill, increasing the general budget for next year, or raising the Ministry of National Defense's budget for fiscal year 2026.

DPP caucus director-general Chuang Jui-hsiung expressed support for the Cabinet's plans but highlighted that the general budget for fiscal year 2026 is still under review. He emphasized that any increase can only be proposed after the budget is passed. He argued that while Taiwan's economy could support a larger general budget, this would not be a typical method to fund the excluded weapons.

Meanwhile, KMT caucus convener Fu Kun-chi proposed that the Cabinet should address the funding through the 2027 general budget. He suggested that the Cabinet's general budget proposal for fiscal year 2027, due at the end of August, should include the necessary funding. Fu also contended that supplementary budgets should be reserved for situations of imminent war or major natural disasters, rather than long-term domestic production programs.

In a related development, the opposition-controlled Legislature passed a motion to extend the current session, originally set to conclude on May 31, to the end of August. This extension aims to provide more time to review the 2026 general budget and other pending items.