Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te on Wednesday called on parliament to approve his defense spending plan of more than 33.56 billion euros. The bill will be debated after the opposition backed down and agreed to send the controversial document to committee. TASR writes about it according to the reports of the AFP and DPA agencies.
- Taiwan’s president requests the approval of a defense budget of more than 33 billion euros.
- The opposition backed down and the bill goes to committee.
- The budget is supposed to strengthen Taiwan’s defenses against the growing threat from China.
- The increase in spending is not a provocation, but an expression of defensiveness.
In November, Laj announced an additional military budget of around 33.5 billion euros over eight years to “strengthen Taiwan’s determination to defend itself and contribute to regional stability.”
But the proposal was blocked for two months because lawmakers from the opposition Kuomintang (KMT) and Taiwan People’s Party (TPP), which jointly control parliament, refused to consider it without concessions from the government.
An increase is not a provocation
At the press conference, Laj emphasized that the increase in Taiwan’s defense budget is not a provocation. “Rather, it demonstrates our determination to defend ourselves and our commitment to global security,” he said. He added that due to the growing military threat from China, Indo-Pacific countries are increasing their defense spending.
Japan’s defense budget this year is 48.6 billion euros, South Korea’s is 37.7 billion euros, and the Philippines is also increasing its spending. Taiwan’s current annual defense budget is only about 21.6 billion euros, Taiwan’s president said.
He added that increasing defense spending was “a common trend among democratic allies”, with major arms suppliers such as the US working at full capacity. Lai thanked the United States for providing the bids and said Taiwan’s commitment to defend itself “has received public support from the White House and members of both parties in the US Congress.”
It would also jeopardize the purchase
“However, with the budget still pending, Taiwan risks losing its priority status and delaying the delivery of critical weapons systems, while raising doubts in the international community about Taiwan’s determination to defend itself,” Laj warned.
Taiwan’s Defense Minister Wellington Koo said the purchase of US weapons, which is directly linked to combat capability, would be in serious jeopardy if a special defense budget could not be approved. “Taiwan should not become a weak link in the collective deterrence of the Indo-Pacific,” Koo said.
Taiwan’s parliament is currently on recess and will resume on February 24. Taiwan has spent billions of dollars over the past decade to modernize its military, but is under strong US pressure to do more to protect against a growing threat from China, which claims the island as part of its territory and has not ruled out using force to annex it.
