Taiwan’s budget agency has proposed an 18 percent increase in defense spending for 2027, setting aside NT$1.123 trillion, or about $35.3 billion, for the coming fiscal year. The proposal would represent the highest defense spending amount Taiwan has recorded, but it still requires approval from the island’s opposition-controlled legislature, Breaking Defense reported.
The Directorate General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics, a cabinet agency, released the budget statement on Thursday. The proposed total would equal 3.01 percent of Taiwan’s projected gross domestic product for the 2026 fiscal year. That fiscal year runs from Jan. 1 through Dec. 31.
The proposed defense budget covers Taiwan’s planned spending for the 2027 fiscal year. The reported GDP comparison uses the government’s projection for the preceding fiscal year, while the overall defense total is stated in Taiwan dollars and converted in the report to about $35.3 billion.
The budget statement identifies two portions of the proposed defense allocation. Taiwan’s defense ministry could receive NT$691.9 billion for ongoing operations and upkeep. A further NT$218.2 billion would be allocated through special budgets for weapons acquisition.
The operations and upkeep funding would support the ministry’s continuing activities, while the separate special budgets would be used to acquire weapons. The report presents the two amounts as components of the proposed NT$1.123 trillion defense allocation.
Taiwan has described the increase in the context of efforts to deter a potential invasion from China. The proposed spending plan follows continuing debate over the island’s defense requirements and the resources needed to strengthen its military capabilities.
President Lai Ching-te said the expected increase demonstrated Taiwan’s determination to strengthen its self-defense capabilities. He also said Taiwan would continue building a more solid defense force to maintain peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait and the region, according to Reuters as cited by Breaking Defense.
The proposed total is below the defense-spending level previously advocated by Elbridge Colby, the U.S. under secretary of defense for policy. Colby has said Taiwan should spend 10 percent of its GDP on defense. Taiwan’s proposed budget is described as 3.01 percent of projected GDP for 2026.
The proposal follows the passage of a separate special defense budget by Taiwan’s parliament in May. That measure provided NT$780 billion after a long delay. Taiwan’s opposition had reduced the amount from the NT$1.25 trillion originally requested, according to the report.
The earlier special budget and the new annual proposal are separate measures. The earlier legislation covered a special defense allocation, while the new plan sets out Taiwan’s proposed defense spending for the 2027 fiscal year. The 2027 proposal must be approved by the opposition-controlled legislature before it can take effect.
The proposed annual total is therefore subject to legislative approval. The budget agency’s statement sets out the overall amount, the increase from the previous level and the stated GDP share, while identifying operations, upkeep and weapons acquisition among the planned uses of the defense allocation.
The main figures in the proposal are NT$1.123 trillion in total defense spending, an increase of 18 percent, approximately $35.3 billion in U.S. currency and a stated value equal to 3.01 percent of projected 2026 GDP. Of the total, NT$691.9 billion is identified for ongoing operations and upkeep, and NT$218.2 billion is identified for special weapons-acquisition budgets. The proposal now moves to the opposition-controlled legislature for approval.