Taiwan president says he ‘won’t give up’ on defense spending after parliament cuts

NEW TAIPEI, Taiwan: Taiwan President Lai Ching-te said on Tuesday he would “not give up” on increasing defense spending, after the island’s opposition-majority parliament last month passed just two-thirds of a $40 billion supplementary budget. Taiwan’s government is prioritizing drones and other asymmetric systems for its military modernization program but parliament only signed off on the purchase of US weapons. It vetoed funds for domestically made drones and missiles which Lai wants to better deter China which views the democratically governed island ‌as its ‌own territory.