Taiwan’s cabinet will propose a 16% annual rise in defense spending for 2027, which will for the first time exceed T$1 trillion ($31 billion), the official Central News Agency reported on Sunday.
The move will come as China, which views democratically governed Taiwan as its own territory, has ramped up military and political pressure over the past few years to assert its claims, which Taipei strongly rejects.
Defense Spending Increase
The proposed budget of more than T$1.1 trillion, to be unveiled on August 20, includes funding for the coast guard, veterans and special projects, and will – like this year – exceed 3% of gross domestic product, the Central News Agency said.
Taiwan’s government has made military modernisation a key policy platform and has repeatedly pledged to spend more on its defences, including developing made-in-Taiwan submarines, given the rising threat from China.
China’s military operates almost daily around Taiwan, and holds periodic war games, the last in late December.
Taiwan is currently in the middle of its annual Han Kuang military exercises.
Original reporting: Appleton, WI News Feed (HLL/CB) — read the source article.
