US disappointed in Taiwan's smaller defense budget, official says

May 10, 2026 4:28 PM EDT

WASHINGTON/BEIJING, May ‌11 (Reuters) - The ​U.S. ​was disappointed in a move by Taiwan's ‌opposition-controlled parliament to approve defense ⁠spending short of what Washington ‌believes is needed, a ‌senior U.S. official said on Sunday.

"Our position on Taiwan's ​defense budget ... is that it was disappointing in that there ⁠was some stuff left on the cutting ​room floor that we believe still needs to be ​funded," the official ‌said on condition of anonymity.

"We'd like to ⁠see the rest of the original proposed package funded."

Taiwan's parliament ⁠approved extra defense spending of $25 billion on Friday, ​about two-thirds of the amount sought by the government to bolster ‌the armed forces in the face of a ‌rapidly modernizing Chinese military.

(Reporting ⁠by Nandita Bose ‌in Washington ​and Trevor Hunnicutt in Beijing; Editing by Paul ‌Simao)



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