Taiwan is determined to strengthen its defense and plans record defense spending next year. This was stated by President Lai Chin-te, quoted by "Reuters". He described the government's proposed military budget as an investment in peace.
Taiwan's cabinet will present next year's budget on Thursday, including details on what defense spending will be spent on, but Lai confirmed media reports that the total defense budget for 2027 will exceed 1 trillion Taiwan dollars ($31.40 billion) for the first time.
His statement comes amid increased military and political pressure in recent years from China, which considers democratically ruled Taiwan its territory - something Taipei strongly rejects.
Taiwan has also faced calls from Washington to increase its own defense spending, similar to US pressure on Europe - something Lai actively supports.
During a meeting dedicated to next year's budget, Lai said that defense spending in 2027 will reach 1.1225 trillion NTD — more than 3% of gross domestic product.
He stressed that this "demonstrates Taiwan's determination to strengthen its self-defense capabilities".
"Investing in defense means investing in peace; "We will continue to build stronger defense capabilities to maintain peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait and the region," Lai added.
Taiwan's government has made military modernization a top priority and has repeatedly pledged to increase defense spending, including on developing domestically-made submarines, amid the growing threat from China.
The Chinese military operates almost daily in the waters and airspace around Taiwan, and Beijing has also refined new tactics, such as Chinese coast guard patrols for "law enforcement" off Taiwan's eastern Pacific coast.
William Chung, an associate research fellow at the Taiwanese Defense Ministry think tank — the Institute for National Defense and Security Studies — said that China's actions on the east coast are not only aimed at exerting psychological pressure, but also at combat training and intelligence gathering.
"If actual military action breaks out in the Taiwan Strait, the entire eastern sea area of Taiwan will be the country's most important outlet to the outside world," he explained at a forum in Taipei.
Last week, Taiwan concluded its annual "Han Kuang" military exercises, during which various combat scenarios were simulated, including actions to break through a potential Chinese naval blockade.
China's Defense Ministry called the exercises a "wasteful farce" that "stirs up panic about war."
Lai faces a challenge from Taiwan's opposition-dominated parliament, which only passed this year's budget late on Friday after months of delay.
The two main opposition parties say they will not give the government blank checks.