{"id":3416,"date":"2025-11-26T10:43:28","date_gmt":"2025-11-26T10:43:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/?p=3416"},"modified":"2025-11-26T10:43:28","modified_gmt":"2025-11-26T10:43:28","slug":"taiwan-unveils-40bn-budget-for-defence-spending-to-counter-china-military-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/?p=3416","title":{"rendered":"Taiwan unveils $40bn budget for defence spending to counter China | Military News"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div id=\"\">\n<p class=\"article__subhead\"><em>Lai previously laid out plans to boost annual defence spending to more than 3 percent of gross domestic product next year and 5 percent by 2030.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"article-dates\">\n<p><span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Published On 26 Nov 2025<\/span><span aria-hidden=\"true\">26 Nov 2025<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"rich-share\" data-testid=\"rich-share\">\n<div class=\"rich-share__wrapper\">\n<div class=\"rich-share__button-wrapper\"><button class=\"rich-share__button row\" aria-expanded=\"false\"><\/p>\n<p>Click here to share on social media<\/p>\n<p><svg class=\"icon icon--share2 icon--primary icon--16 \" viewbox=\"0 0 20 16\" version=\"1.1\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><title>share2<\/title><path fill=\"#000\" fill-rule=\"evenodd\" d=\"M11.688 9.048c-.659 0-1.252.282-1.673.733l-4.92-2.45c.016-.115.028-.232.028-.352 0-.117-.011-.23-.027-.343l4.913-2.423a2.285 2.285 0 0 0 1.68.739C12.964 4.952 14 3.899 14 2.6 14 1.302 12.965.25 11.688.25S9.377 1.302 9.377 2.601c0 .117.01.23.027.343L4.49 5.367a2.285 2.285 0 0 0-1.68-.739C1.536 4.628.5 5.681.5 6.979c0 1.299 1.035 2.35 2.312 2.35.659 0 1.252-.281 1.673-.731l4.92 2.45a2.357 2.357 0 0 0-.029.351c0 1.299 1.035 2.351 2.312 2.351S14 12.698 14 11.399s-1.035-2.35-2.312-2.35Z\" clip-rule=\"evenodd\"\/><\/svg><\/button><\/p>\n<p class=\"rich-share__social-text\">Share<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div aria-live=\"polite\" aria-atomic=\"true\">\n<p>Taiwanese President William Lai Ching-te has announced a $40bn budget for defence spending over the next eight years, to get \u201ccloser to the vision of an unassailable Taiwan, safeguarded by innovation and technology\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>Taiwan has been ramping up defence spending over the past decade, but United States President Donald Trump\u2019s administration has pushed the self-ruled island to further increase its defence spending as a means to deter a potential Chinese attempt to regain control over the territory.<\/p>\n<section class=\"more-on\">\n<h2 class=\"more-on__heading\">Recommended Stories<!-- --> <\/h2>\n<p><span class=\"screen-reader-text\">list of 3 items<\/span><span class=\"screen-reader-text\">end of list<\/span><\/section>\n<p>Lai said on Wednesday that the military aimed to have a \u201chigh level\u201d of joint combat readiness against China by 2027 \u2013 which US officials have previously cited as a possible timeline for a Chinese military operation on the island.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe ultimate goal is to establish defence capabilities that can permanently safeguard democratic Taiwan,\u201d Lai said at a news conference in Taipei after announcing the $40bn spending plan in an opinion piece in The Washington Post newspaper.<\/p>\n<p>Lai\u2019s announcement came as Tokyo and Beijing were locked in a weeks-long diplomatic spat that followed remarks by Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi suggesting Japan could intervene militarily in any attack on Taiwan.<\/p>\n<p>China claims the island is part of its territory and has threatened to use force to regain control over it.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"us-reaction\">US reaction<\/h2>\n<p>The US\u2019s top envoy in Taiwan, Raymond Greene, said he \u201cwelcomes\u201d the government\u2019s spending plan and urged the island\u2019s rival political parties to \u201cfind common ground\u201d on boosting its defences.<\/p>\n<p>Lai said the extra spending would go towards new arms purchases from the US, as well as enhancing Taiwan\u2019s ability to wage asymmetrical warfare.<\/p>\n<p>But he said the spending was not tied to Taiwan\u2019s ongoing tariff negotiations with the US, insisting the main goal was to \u201cdemonstrate Taiwan\u2019s determination to defend\u201d itself.<\/p>\n<p>His comments also follow US approval earlier this month for $330m of parts and components in Washington\u2019s first military sale to Taiwan since Trump\u2019s return to the White House.<\/p>\n<p>Lai, who leads the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), previously laid out plans to boost annual defence spending to more than 3 percent of gross domestic product next year and 5 percent by 2030.<\/p>\n<p>Trump has demanded Taiwan raise its defence spending to as much as 10 percent of GDP, a proportion well above what the US or any of its key allies spend.<\/p>\n<p>The government has proposed $949.5bn New Taiwan dollars ($30bn), or 3.32 percent of GDP, for defence spending next year.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"higher-than-expected\">Higher than expected<\/h2>\n<p>The additional spending plan announced on Wednesday exceeds the $32bn previously revealed to the AFP news agency by a senior DPP politician.<\/p>\n<p>Speaking earlier in Beijing, Peng Qingen, a spokesperson for China\u2019s Taiwan Affairs Office, said Taiwan was allowing \u201cexternal forces\u201d to dictate its decisions.<\/p>\n<p>In the opinion piece, Lai said he would accelerate the development of the so-called \u201cT-Dome\u201d \u2013 a multi-layered air defence system \u2013 which will \u201cbring us closer to the vision of an unassailable Taiwan, safeguarded by innovation and technology\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>But the government may struggle to get the proposed spending approved by parliament, where the main opposition Kuomintang party, which advocates closer ties with China, controls the purse strings with the help of the Taiwan People\u2019s Party.<\/p>\n<p>Recently elected Kuomintang chairperson Cheng Li-wun has previously opposed Lai\u2019s defence spending plans, saying Taiwan \u201cdoesn\u2019t have that much money\u201d.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><br \/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Lai previously laid out plans to boost annual defence spending to more than 3 percent of gross domestic product next year and 5 percent by 2030. Published On 26 Nov 202526 Nov 2025 Click here to share on social media share2 Share Taiwanese President William Lai Ching-te has announced a $40bn budget for defence spending [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3417,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3416","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-asia-pacific"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3416","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3416"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3416\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/3417"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3416"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3416"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3416"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}