US senators criticize defense budget delaysSTANDING FIRM: The KMT said it supports a reasonable defense budget and that it would promptly review the budget once money is allocated for soldiers’ salary raisesBy Su Yung-yao / Staff reporter, with CNABipartisan US lawmakers have once again criticized and expressed disappointment that Taiwan’s efforts to enhance its self-defense capabilities are being hindered. “We urge Taiwan’s political parties to work in good faith across party lines to fully fund Taiwan’s self-defense,” the senators said. The special defense funding is critical for military reforms and improvements to whole-of-society resilience, for Taiwan’s security, and its partnership with the US, they added. Taiwan’s budget system differs from that of the US, the KMT said, adding that the legislature last year approved more than NT$600 billion in defense spending, and that this year’s budget would remain at the same level, unaffected by the passage of this year’s general budget. When the DPP government includes the increased military salary in its budget, the opposition would immediately review and approve the defense budget, the KMT said, adding that the “treatment of soldiers should also be an important part of the defense budget.”

Source: Taipei Times February 07, 2026 17:13 UTC