Taiwan’s President Lai Ching-te has announced a $40 billion supplementary defence budget to accelerate arms procurement to fight China should Beijing launch an armed assault, which many believe is imminent.
The President, according to sources, said that the spending was aimed at defending a democratic nation by adding more weapons and armament in the military and overall defence sector so as to deter China by 2027. Lai’s proposal faced a fierce opposition backlash, with critics viewing the move as highly provocative, and some criticising the government, saying, “Taiwan was not an ATM.”
President Lai on Wednesday accused China of planning to turn a democratic country into "China's Taiwan". He said, "There is no room for compromise on national security," adding that concession in the face of aggression brought nothing but "enslavement".
His strongly worded statement reflected the desperation stemming from Taiwan’s vulnerability against a much larger and far superior Chinese army.
Meanwhile, Taiwan has recently announced that it will scale up its defence budget to 3.32 per cent of GDP in 2026, the highest since 2009.
Lai aims to increase the defence budget to five per cent of overall GDP by 2030. Additionally, Taiwanese defence minister Wellington Koo said the multi-year package, worth T$1.25 trillion ($39.9 billion, €34.4 billion), would be used to buy new systems, including from the US, Taiwan's most important security partner.
Also Read: US & EU officials arrive in Geneva for Ukraine peace talks
While criticism of Lai’s policies is surging across the country’s political circles, he rubbished the criticism, saying an increase in the defence budget was unrelated to ongoing tariff talks with Washington.
On the other hand, Beijing’s spokesperson on late Wednesday responded, saying, “We will crush any foreign interference in our policy toward Taiwan”— an indirect warning to Japan after it deployed missiles on an island near Taiwan.
"We have the firm will, the strong determination and a strong ability to defend our national sovereignty and territorial integrity," Peng Qingen, a spokesperson for China's Taiwan Affairs Office, said. "We will crush all foreign interference," he said.
Also Read: Ukraine peace talks in Geneva marred by possible leak allegations
Follow us
