TAIPEI ¨C Taiwan plans to spend an extra $40 billion on its defenses, President Lai Ching-te said in a commentary in the Washington Post, a long-telegraphed move he described as necessary to deter China from using force against the democracy.
The expenditure will be part of a supplementary budget the government will introduce to ¡°not only fund significant new arms acquisitions from the United States, but also vastly enhance Taiwan¡¯s asymmetrical capabilities,¡± Lai wrote on Tuesday.
¡°No country will be more determined in safeguarding Taiwan¡¯s future than our own,¡± Lai said ¡ª a comment that follows President Donald Trump saying while campaigning last year that the self-governed archipelago ¡°should pay¡± for U.S. protection from Chinese military aggression.
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