Taiwan's defense spending will grow 7.7% next year, outpacing expected economic growth, the self-ruled island's cabinet said, as the target is to improve deterrence against the growing threat from Beijing, Reuters reported, BTA reported.
China, which views democratically-ruled Taiwan as its territory, has increased military and political pressure over the past five years to cement those claims, which Taipei strongly rejects.
Taiwan's cabinet said after its regular weekly meeting that defense spending in 2025 will rise 7.7 percent year-on-year to $20.25 billion, accounting for 2.45 percent of gross domestic product and exceeding the government's expectations for economic growth of 3.26% for the year.
The spending includes a special $2.8 billion budget to buy new fighter jets and increase missile production. It's part of $7.5 billion in additional military spending announced in 2021 over five years.
Taiwan's government has made military modernization a key political platform and has repeatedly promised to spend more on defense in the face of the growing threat from China, including developing Taiwanese-made submarines. China's air force flies almost daily in the skies near Taiwan, and in May staged war games around the island shortly after the inauguration of President William Lai, whom Beijing denounces as a “separatist”. Lai rejects China's claims to sovereignty, saying that only the people of Taiwan can decide their future.
The budget will still need to be passed by parliament, where the ruling Democratic Progressive Party lost its majority in January elections. Taiwan's main opposition party, the Kuomintang, has repeatedly expressed support for strengthening the island's defenses, although it is currently at odds with the ruling party over controversial reforms giving parliament greater oversight powers that the government says are unconstitutional.
China is also rapidly modernizing its armed forces with new aircraft carriers, stealth fighters and missiles. In March, China announced a 7.2 percent increase in defense spending this year to 1.67 trillion yuan ($234.10 billion), ahead of a target for economic growth of about 5 percent for 2024, although according to analysts, they represent only about 1.3% of GDP.