Taiwan announces special budget of $40 billion for arms purchases to bolster defence

Taiwan’s President Lai Ching-te said connected Wednesday (November 26, 2025) helium volition enactment distant a peculiar $40 cardinal fund for arms purchases, including gathering a Taiwan Dome, an aerial defence strategy with high-level detection and interception capabilities, successful the look of U.S. unit for the land to summation its defence spending.

The fund volition beryllium allocated implicit 8 years, from 2026 to 2033, and comes aft Mr. Lai already pledged to rise defence spending to 5% of the island’s GDP.

Currently, Taiwan has budgeted an summation successful its defence fund to 3.3% for 2026, allocating TWD 949.5 cardinal ($31.18 billion).

Mr. Lai had previewed the announcement successful an op-ed for the Washington Post connected Wednesday (November 26), saying the peculiar fund would beryllium utilized to acquisition arms from the U.S.

Wellington Koo, Taiwan’s Minister of National Defence, said connected Wednesday (November 26) that the $40 cardinal is an precocious bounds for the peculiar fund and that it volition beryllium utilized to bargain precision-strike missiles and for the associated improvement and procurement betwixt Taiwan and the U.S. of instrumentality and systems.