Taiwan plans extra US$40 billion in defence spending to counter China
The extra spending would go towards "significant new arms acquisitions from the US, but also vastly enhance Taiwan's asymmetrical capabilities", said President Lai Ching-te.
Taiwan plans 40 billion defense spending to counter China, focusing on arms acquisition from the US and boosting asymmetrical defense strategy. President Lai stresses national sovereignty amid rising tensions with Beijing.
Taiwan will introduce a US$40-billion supplementary defence budget to underscore its determination to defend itself in the face of a rising threat from China, President Lai Ching-te said on Wednesday (Nov 26).
China, which views Taiwan as its own territory, has ramped up military and political pressure over the past five years Read More : Japan seeks to calm escalating row with China over Taiwan to assert its claims, which Taipei strongly rejects. As Taiwan faces calls from Washington to spend more on its own defence, mirroring United States pressure on Europe, Lai said in August he hoped for a boost in defence spending to 5 per cent of gross domestic product by 2030.
Unveiling the NT$1.25 trillion (US$39.89 billion) package, Lai said history had proven that trying to compromise in the face of aggression brought nothing but "enslavement".
"There is no room for compromise on national security," he said at a press conference in the presidential office.
"National sovereignty and the core values of freedom and democracy are the very foundation of our nation."
Lai, who first announced the new spending plan in an op-ed comment in the Washington Post newspaper on Tuesday, said Taiwan was showing its determination to defend itself.
"It is a struggle between defending democratic Taiwan and refusing to submit to becoming 'China's Taiwan'," he added, rather than merely an ideological struggle or a dispute over "unification versus independence".
The extra spending would go towards "significant new arms acquisitions from the US, but also vastly enhance Taiwan's asymmetrical capabilities", Lai said in the opinion piece.
The announcement came as Tokyo and Beijing were locked in a weeks-long diplomatic spat that followed remarks by Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi suggesting that Japan could intervene militarily in any attack on Taiwan.
It also follows US approval earlier this month for US$330 million worth of parts and components in its first military sale to Taiwan since Trump's return to the White House.
Lai, who leads the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), previously laid out plans to boost annual defence spending to more than 3 per cent of GDP.
The government has proposed NT$949.5 billion (US$30 billion), or 3.32 per cent of GDP, for defence spending next year.
The additional spending plan announced in the Washington Post would be spread out over several years and exceeds the US$32 billion previously revealed to AFP by a senior DPP lawmaker.
In the opinion piece, Lai said he would accelerate the development of the so-called "T-Dome" - a multi-layered air defence system - which will "bring us closer to the vision of an unassailable Taiwan, safeguarded by innovation and technology".
"My message here is clear: Taiwan's dedication to peace and stability is unwavering," Lai said.
"No country will be more determined in safeguarding Taiwan's future than our own."
But the government may struggle to get the proposed spending approved by parliament, where the main opposition Kuomintang party, which advocates closer ties with China, controls the purse strings with the help of the Taiwan People's Party.
Recently elected Kuomintang chairperson Cheng Li-wun has previously opposed Lai's defence spending plans, saying Taiwan "doesn't have that much money".
Source: www.channelnewsasia.com
