HIMARS procurement in danger due to blocked budget: ministryBy Lee Wen-hsin and Sam Garcia / Staff reporter, with staff writerA deal with the US for High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) that expires on Monday is in danger, as Washington remains inflexible and the relevant budget has not yet been passed by the Legislative Yuan, Deputy Minister of National Defense Hsu Szu-chien (徐斯儉) said today. The Legislative Yuan on March 13 authorized the Executive Yuan to sign four LOAs from the US for M109A7 self-propelled howitzers, Javelin anti-armor missiles, TOW 2B missiles and HIMARS. The payment deadline for the HIMARS LOA is Monday next week, Hsu said. The issue is that the relevant procurement budget has not been passed by the Legislative Yuan and the special defense budget has not passed its third reading, Hsu said. The ministry has openly and transparently communicated with legislators about the rationale behind the special defense budget and is willing to discuss any feedback on the budget’s scale, Hsu said.

Source: Taipei Times March 27, 2026 05:05 UTC