Taiwan’s Political Parties Agree Government Can Sign Agreements on US Arms Sales

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Mar 13, 2026 - 13:27 Updated: Mar 13, 2026 - 13:26
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Taiwan’s Political Parties Agree Government Can Sign Agreements on US Arms Sales

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TAIPEI, Taiwan—Taiwan’s ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and two opposition parties agreed March 12 to authorize the government to sign agreements with the United States for four arms sales packages following cross-party talks.

The four packages to be signed for include M109A7 self-propelled howitzers, Lockheed Martin-made Javelin missiles, TOW anti-tank missiles, and High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS). Together, they make up the bulk of an $11.1 billion arms sale announced by the Trump administration in December.
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Taiwan President Lai Ching-te’s ruling DPP and the opposition are mired in a rare political crisis. The opposition, which consisted of the Kuomintang party (KMT) and its much smaller ally, the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP), has used its majority in the parliament to block or stymie key government proposals, including the budget.
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In November, Lai announced a special defense budget of $40 billion to confront China’s military threats. The proposed budget has stalled in Taiwan’s legislature, raising concerns in the United States, which is the island’s most important arms supplier despite the absence of formal diplomatic ties.

The opposition parties say Lai’s proposals are unclear and argue they cannot pass “blank checks,” even though they support higher defense spending. They have offered their own, less expensive plans.

Taiwan’s defense ministry said the letters of offer and acceptance for the weapon packages must be signed, or Taiwan would give up its slot in the production and delivery queue.

Lawmakers from the three parties agreed during a meeting of the legislature’s foreign affairs and defense committee that the government can still sign the agreements in advance, even though the reviews of the spending proposals may not be approved in time.

On March 10, Taiwan’s Defense Minister Wellington Koo told reporters the HIMARS letter expires on March 26.

March 15 is the deadline to sign for the other weapons systems, the defense ministry says.

In February, a bipartisan group of 37 U.S. House lawmakers and senators sent a letter to leaders of Taiwan’s three parties, voicing concerns about the stalled plans.

“We commend Taiwan for making important progress in strengthening its military readiness, reserve forces, and asymmetric defense capabilities,” the letter reads. “Nevertheless, we fear that without significant increases in Taiwan’s defense spending at levels reflected in President Lai’s proposed special budget, this progress will be insufficient.”

In recent years, China has sharply escalated military pressure on Taiwan, regularly sending aircraft and vessels near the island. It has also held large-scale military exercises around Taiwan, such as the drills in April 2025 and in November 2025.
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In February, Lai told AFP in an interview that China’s “expansionist ambitions” would not stop if “Taiwan were annexed by China.”

“The next countries under threat would be Japan, the Philippines, and others in the Indo-Pacific region, with repercussions eventually reaching the Americas and Europe,” Lai said during the interview.

Reuters contributed to this report.
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