Taiwan’s opposition parties, which control the legislature, have forced through a 6.6% cut in the 2025 budget, which the ruling Democratic Progressive Party, or DPP, described as a “hostile” attempt that poses an “unprecedented” security risk. The island’s Legislative Yuan approved the 2025 central government general budget on Tuesday, which saw a record cut of approximately $207.5 billion New Taiwan dollars (US$6.34 billion) forced by the opposition Kuomintang and Taiwan People’s Party.
The affected items include Taiwan’s defense and diplomatic budgets, with half of the proposed NT$2 billion (US$66.67 million) funding for an indigenous defense submarine, or IDS, program being frozen on Monday.