Taiwan to increase defense spending by $40 bln

TAIPEI

Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te said on Wednesday his government will propose $40 billion in additional defense spending over eight years, as the democratic island seeks to deter a potential Chinese invasion.

Taiwan has ramped up defense spending in the past decade as Chinese military pressure intensified, but U.S. President Donald Trump's administration has pushed the island to do more to protect itself.

Lai said yesterday the military aimed to have a "high level" of joint combat readiness against China by 2027, which U.S. officials have previously cited as a possible timeline for a Chinese attack on the island.

"The ultimate goal is to establish defense capabilities that can permanently safeguard democratic Taiwan," Lai said at a news conference in Taipei after announcing the $40 billion spending plan in an opinion piece in the Washington Post.

"Beijing authorities have recently intensified efforts aimed at turning democratic Taiwan into China's Taiwan, posing a serious threat to our national security and to Taiwan's freedom and democracy."

Communist China has never ruled Taiwan, but Beijing claims the island is part of its territory and has threatened to use force to annex it.

The United States' top envoy in Taiwan said he "welcomes" the government's spending plan and urged the island's rival political parties to "find common ground" on boosting its defenses.

Lai said the extra spending would go towards new arms purchases from the United States as well enhancing Taiwan's ability to wage asymmetrical warfare.

But he said the spending was not tied to Taiwan's ongoing tariff negotiations with the United States, insisting the main goal was to "demonstrate Taiwan's determination to defend" itself.