Taiwan's president to propose $40 bn in extra defence spending

TAIPEI, Taiwan: Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te said his government will propose $40 billion in additional defence spending over several years, as the island state seeks to deter China.

“We aim to bolster deterrence by inserting greater costs and uncertainties into Beijing’s decision-making on the use of force,” Lai said in an opinion piece published in the Washington Post on Tuesday.

Beijing claims the island is part of its territory and has threatened to use force to annex it.

Lai, who leads the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), previously laid out plans to boost annual defence spending to more than three percent of GDP next year and five percent by 2030, following US pressure to spend more on protecting itself against a potential Chinese attack.

The government has proposed NT$949.5 billion ($30 billion), or 3.32 percent of GDP, for defence spending next year.

The additional spending plan announced in the Washington Post would be spread out over several years and exceeds the $32 billion previously revealed to AFP by a senior DPP lawmaker.

“This landmark package will not only fund significant new arms acquisitions from the United States, but also vastly enhance Taiwan’s asymmetrical capabilities,” Lai said in the opinion piece.

But the government may struggle to get the proposed spending approved by parliament, where the main opposition Kuomintang party, which advocates closer ties with China, controls the purse strings with the help of the Taiwan People’s Party.

Recently elected Kuomintang chairperson Cheng Li-wun has previously opposed Lai’s defence spending plans, saying Taiwan “doesn’t have that much money.”