TAIPEI: Taiwan will introduce a $40-billion supplementary defense budget to underscore its determination to defend itself in the face of a rising threat from China, President Lai Ching-te said on Wednesday.
China, which views democratically-governed Taiwan as its own territory, has ramped up military and political pressure over the past five years to assert its claims, which Taipei strongly rejects.
As Taiwan faces calls from Washington to spend more on its own defense, mirroring US pressure on Europe, Lai said in August he hoped for a boost in defense spending to 5 percent of gross domestic product by 2030.
Unveiling the T$1.25 trillion ($39.89 billion) package, Lai said history had proven that trying to compromise in the face of aggression brought nothing but “enslavement.”
“There is no room for compromise on national security,” he said at a press conference in the presidential office.
