00:00Here at the legislature, Defense Minister Wellington Kuh once again stressed that U.S.
00:04arms sales are important for maintaining the stability across the Taiwan Straits,
00:09as concerns grow over U.S. support for future arms sales following the Trump-shee summit.
00:14This comes after U.S. President Donald Trump said in a recent interview with Fox News Channel's
00:19special report that he has yet to decide whether to approve the latest 14 billion U.S. dollar
00:24arms sales to Taiwan, describing it as a good negotiating chip with Beijing.
00:29His comments sparked calls from a growing number of bipartisan U.S. lawmakers urging the
00:34administration to move forward with the sales as soon as possible, with House Speaker Mike
00:39Johnson reaffirming Congress's continued support for Taiwan. Kuh has now weighed in, saying he is
00:45cautiously optimistic about U.S. arms sales and that they are key to regional peace and stability.
01:12But the opposition has criticized the Lied administration for failing to clearly grasp the direction of Trump's policy toward Taiwan.
01:35Tuesday's legislative session also focused on the first batch of military equipment Taiwan plans to purchase under its new $25
01:42billion U.S.
01:43dollar special defense budget, which excludes funding for a T-Dome air defense system and domestic drone procurement.
01:50The opposition Kuomintang has also proposed cuts to this year's general defense budget, including more than $15 million U.S.
01:58dollars for drones, while freezing over $600 million U.S. dollars allocated to the Haikun submarine program.
02:04As Taiwan continues debates over defense budgets, the country is also closely watching its military ties with the U.S.
02:13Devon Tsai and Ellen Lu in Taipei for Taiwan Plus.
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