Taiwan's governing Executive Yuan intends to work around the opposition's cuts by restoring the slashed defence funding from other budgets — a setback for the Kuomintang-Taiwan People's Party (KMT-TPP) camp, which has sought to rein in military spending, and a boon for President Lai Ching-te's military build-up plan.

• The Executive Yuan had originally planned to use an eight-year, NT$1.25 trillion special defence act to make major weapons purchases, but KMT and TPP legislators cut it to NT$780 billion.
• The Executive Yuan plans to restore the roughly NT$470 billion shortfall in full: part will be spread across the annual general budgets over several years, and part will be placed in this year's supplementary budget.
• On the 20th, the Executive Yuan will finalise next year's general budget and simultaneously approve this year's supplementary budget, with the additional amount estimated to exceed NT$300 billion — a record high.
• The supplementary budget also includes subsidies for fuel prices, aviation, passenger transport, taxis and fertiliser in response to the situation in the Middle East, along with pay raises for military personnel, civil servants and teachers, and elderly farmers' allowances — the subsidies alone total about NT$100 billion.
• The "Taiwan Dome" air-defence plan championed by Lai Ching-te has been confirmed to incorporate the Strong Bow missile system, effectively ensuring the policy will not fall through.

Outlook: Once the general budget and supplementary budget are finalised on the 20th, the tussle over military spending between the KMT-TPP camp and the Executive Yuan is bound to intensify once more, with the outcome still hinging on whether the Legislative Yuan will go along with it.