Taiwan president unveils ‘T-Dome’ air defence system to counter China threat

TAIPEI (Reuters) -Taiwan President Lai Ching-te said on Friday that the government will install the “T-Dome” air defense system to provide multi-layered protection against enemy threats and called on China to stop using force to seize Taiwan.

Democratically governed Taiwan has faced increasing military and political pressure from China, which claims the island as its own territory despite strong objections from the Taipei government.

Taiwan is increasing defense spending and modernizing its armed forces, but it faces a China that has a much larger military and is adding advanced new weapons such as stealth fighter jets, aircraft carriers and scores of missiles.

Lai said in his National Day speech that Taiwan is determined to spend more on defense and will propose a special budget for military spending at the end of this year, which will show the government’s determination to protect the island.

“The increase in defense spending has a purpose; it is a clear necessity to counter enemy threats and a driver for developing our defense industry.” he said.

Drawing applause from the crowd, Lai said, “We will accelerate our T-Dome construction, establish a tight air defense system in Taiwan with multi-layered defense, high-level detection and effective response, and weave a security net for Taiwan to protect the lives and property of citizens.” he said.

He added that China should stop using force or pressure to change the status quo in the Taiwan Strait.

There was no immediate reaction to his speech from Beijing. China says Lai is a “separatist” and has turned down his offer to meet.

(Reporting by Yimou Lee and Ben Blanchard; Editing by Himani Sarkar and Michael Perry)