KMT Chairman Eric Chu Reaffirms Full Support for Taiwan’s National Defense Budget

During Chairman Eric Chu’s remarks at this Wednesday’s Central Standing Committee meeting, he reaffirmed the party’s unwavering commitment to strengthening Taiwan’s national defense. He highlighted three key facts regarding the defense budget:

1. The KMT fully supports increasing the defense budget to exceed 3% or even 3.5% of GDP.

2. From 2018 to the present, the KMT has enacted the smallest proportional cuts to the defense budget—just 1% in 2025, the lowest reduction rate in recent years (detailed chart below).

3. All previously frozen defense allocations were fully unfrozen on June 24, 2025.

Chairman Chu reiterated that a strong national defense has always been a core value of the KMT. He emphasized the party’s “Double D Strategy”—Defense and Dialogue—which aims to strengthen Taiwan’s defense capability while promoting meaningful Cross-Strait communication to reduce tensions and ensure the safety of the Taiwanese people.

The KMT strongly supports special defense budget to be reviewed later this year, especially in the following three areas:

1. Major weapons procurement

2. Homeland defense resilience

3. Social security resilience

Together, these areas will likely push Taiwan’s total defense spending above 3% of GDP, potentially reaching 3.5%. The KMT unequivocally supports such increases as part of its consistent and responsible national security policy.

DPP Undermining Defense with Political Maneuvering

Chairman Chu expressed disappointment that in early June, DPP legislators blocked a proposed pay raise for military personnel. More recently, the DPP insisted on forcibly combining NT$150 billion in homeland and societal resilience funds with unrelated trade and economic revitalization proposals—a move Chairman Chu called “a complete mismatch of priorities” that distorts both facts and national needs.

Even more troubling, President Lai Ching-te has falsely accused the KMT of slashing the defense budget, intentionally misrepresenting the facts to create political division. The truth is: KMT lawmakers on the Foreign and National Defense Committee firmly support the 2025 defense budget. The NT$4.76 trillion total saw a modest 1% reduction, which was jointly approved by both KMT and DPP legislators as a measure to eliminate inefficiencies—not cut core capabilities.

Chairman Chu strongly urged President Lai to stop spreading misinformation and to instruct DPP lawmakers to set aside ideology and cease politicizing national defense.

“National security is a matter for all citizens—not a bargaining chip for partisan gain,” said Chairman Chu. “We call on the DPP government to work sincerely with the KMT to safeguard Taiwan’s security and end the cycle of political conflict.”