Taiwan is pushing its defense budget past NT$1 trillion for the first time, a move aimed at China but one that needs opposition support in a divided legislature.

• President Lai Ching-te used the 68th anniversary of the 1958 Kinmen artillery battle to call for cross-party backing of the defense budget.
• Next year's total defense spending, including a special budget, tops NT$1 trillion and stays above 3% of GDP.
• Military pay keeps rising: extra allowances for combat, drone, and cyber units, plus a 4% across-the-board raise for public servants and soldiers starting in January.
• Old barracks and military housing are being rebuilt under a long-running upgrade program that has already cost well over NT$100 billion.
• The pitch is unity — that a stable Taiwan Strait matters to global security, not just Taiwan.

Outlook: The budget now goes to a legislature the ruling party does not control, making opposition cooperation the main obstacle.