Taiwan Dramatically Raises Defense Budget Amid Escalating Tensions with China
According to the English section of webangah News Agency,citing Mehr News Agency and Reuters,amid intensified US military drills near Taiwan,the self-governing island’s cabinet intends to raise its defense budget to $31.27 billion, equivalent to 3.3 percent of its GDP. This marks the first time since 2009 that the defense budget will exceed three percent.
This move coincides with increased Chinese military and political pressure over the past five years aimed at reunifying Taiwan with the mainland. Beijing considers Taiwan part of its territory and has never ruled out using military force for reunification.
Taiwan rejects China’s sovereignty claims and faces pressure from Washington to boost its defense spending, a demand also placed on US allies in Europe. Taiwanese Premier Lai Ching-te announced this month his intent to raise Taiwan’s defense budget beyond three percent of GDP.
Chinese Air Force fighter jets fly near Taiwan’s airspace almost daily and periodically conduct naval exercises close to Taiwanese waters, with the latest drills taking place in April this year.
Meanwhile, China announced a 7.2 percent increase in its own 2024 defense budget in March, raising it to $248.17 billion-surpassing Beijing’s targeted five percent economic growth rate for 2025.
