Taipei ¨C Taiwan on Thursday proposed extra defense spending of 240 billion New Taiwan dollars ($8.69 billion) over the next five years, including on new missiles, as it warned of an urgent need to upgrade weapons in the face of a ¡°severe threat¡± from its giant neighbor China.
Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen has made modernizing the armed forces ¡ª well-armed but dwarfed by China¡¯s ¡ª and increasing defense spending a priority, especially as Beijing ramps up its military and diplomatic pressure against the island it claims as ¡°sacred¡± Chinese territory.
The new money, which comes on top of planned military spending of NT$471.7 billion for 2022, will need to be approved by parliament, where Tsai¡¯s ruling party has a large majority, meaning its passage should be smooth.
With your current subscription plan you can comment on stories. However, before writing your first comment, please create a display name in the Profile section of your subscriber account page.