Taiwan plans extra $40bn in defence spending to counter China’s ‘intensifying’ threats | Taiwan
While the Taiwanese government announced a $40 billion special defense budget and a series of measures against Chinese attacks, it said Beijing’s threats against Taiwan were “intensifying” and invasion preparations were accelerating.
Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te said that “there is no room for compromise on national security” and that he is determined to strengthen Taiwan’s defense with the support of the United States.
“This is not an ideological struggle or a ‘unification versus independence’ debate, but a struggle to defend ‘democratic Taiwan’ and refuse to become ‘China’s Taiwan’.”
Lai and defense minister Wellington Koo announced the spending increase on Wednesday – an increase of at least $8 billion over what had previously been flagged – following a briefing from the national security council.
He said Chinese authorities have increased military harassment, international pressure and propaganda, as well as espionage and infiltration into Taiwan.
According to a translation of his remarks, Lai said that the most threatening annexation scenario is not China’s military action, but Taiwan’s “give-up.”
“History has proven that compromise with aggression only brings war and enslavement,” he said.
He said Beijing’s proposal for Hong Kong-style ‘one country two systems’ rule under Chinese rule should be officially viewed as “an inviolable red line for Taiwanese society”.
Koo said that the extra budget covering the years 2026-2033 will include new missiles and unmanned aerial vehicles, as well as artificial intelligence tools to improve existing systems.
He said the government would also make improvements to military procurement (many big-ticket orders from the United States have experienced significant delays) and take new measures to protect Taiwanese abroad from China’s transnational pressure.
The increase in the defense budget is expected to raise Taiwan’s spending to 3.3 percent of GDP in 2026, and Lai has pledged to reach 5 percent by 2030.
Raymond Greene, representative of the American Institute, the de facto US embassy, said the announcement was “a major step towards maintaining peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait by strengthening deterrence.”
Peng Qingen, a spokesman for China’s Taiwan Affairs Office, had previously said at a press conference that Taiwan was wasting money “to curry favor with foreign powers”.
“This will only lead Taiwan to disaster.”
The announcement follows a phone call between Donald Trump and Xi Jinping on Tuesday, in which Xi reiterated his claim to Taiwan and his intention to eventually annex it.
According to information from China, he told Trump, “Taiwan’s return to China is an integral part of the post-war international order.”
This also comes amid an ongoing diplomatic spat between China and Japan over its stance towards Taiwan, after Japanese prime minister Sanae Takaichi said his country would likely intervene militarily if China attacked Taiwan. China launched a series of economic retaliation in response. Japan’s plans to place missiles on Yonaguni Island, the closest territory to Taiwan and just 110 km off the east coast, further angered the country.
Tokyo defense minister Shinjiro Koizumi visited Yonaguni on Saturday and told the press that preparations for the deployment of medium-range surface-to-air missiles were “progressing steadily.”
The Chinese government accused Japan of deliberately increasing regional tensions.
“Japan’s deployment of offensive weapons in areas adjacent to China’s Taiwan region is extremely dangerous, deliberately creating regional tensions and provoking military conflict,” Peng said on Wednesday.
“We have a firm will, a strong determination and a strong ability to defend our national sovereignty and territorial integrity… We will crush any foreign intervention.”
Lillian Yang and agencies contributed to this report
