Taiwan passes annual budget after long delay, including drone spending

TAIPEI, Aug 15 (Reuters) - Taiwan's opposition-controlled ‌parliament approved this ​year's ​government budget late on Friday after a record delay, including spending on a key drone programme to bolster the island's defences, as the president ‌called for a return to reason.

While President Lai Ching-te won the election ⁠in 2024, his Democratic Progressive Party lost control of parliament, and the two main opposition parties have ‌used their majority to push ‌their own legislation and stymie government plans, including the budget citing the need to stop wasteful spending.

Legally the budget should have been reviewed and approved by lawmakers ​by the end of last year, after being put forward by the cabinet last August, but repeated clashes between the opposition and ruling parties delayed its ⁠passage.

Lawmakers voted to cut the originally proposed spending of T$3.034 trillion ($94.79 billion) by T$48 billion, but $63.4 billion earmarked for ​drones passed without cuts, funding systems the government wants to modernise in the military to better deter China, which views Taiwan as ​its own territory.

Lai said in a statement that parliamentary ‌oversight of the government and review of the budget are an important duty granted by the constitution.

"But budget review should return to ⁠principles of professionalism, reasonableness, and proportionality, and should not let political divisions affect the normal functioning of the state," he added.

Taiwan's cabinet will formally propose next year's budget on Thursday, which ⁠will include a 16% annual rise in defence spending.

Fu Kun-chi, caucus whip for the largest opposition ​party, the Kuomintang, wrote on his Facebook page that the opposition parties showed "great goodwill" in approving 98.4% of the general budget "all in order to let the country function normally".

But the government must respect ‌legislation the opposition has passed in parliament, he added, referring to disputes about laws the government has refused to enact.

In one ‌of the most high-profile cases, in December Taiwan's premier said he would not enact local ⁠government spending plans passed by the ‌opposition, saying they were fiscally ​unsound and that lawmakers were welcome to try to remove him in a no-confidence vote.

($1 = 32.0070 Taiwan dollars)

(Reporting by Ben Blanchard; Editing by ‌Jacqueline Wong)

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