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Agence France-Presse

Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen said on Monday she is seeking to increase military spending, as relations with Beijing deteriorate.
Her proposal to increase the 2019 defence budget by 5.6 per cent to NT$346 billion (US$11.3 billion) will go before parliament after the summer recess.
Beijing sees the democratic self-ruled island as part of its territory to be brought back into its fold, by force if necessary.
China’s new J-16 advanced fighter jet ‘targeting Taiwan’ may soon be combat ready
Beijing has stepped up pressure on Taipei since Tsai came to power two years ago, as her government refuses to acknowledge the island is part of “one China”.
The People’s Liberation Army has staged a string of air and naval exercises, including a live-fire drill in the Taiwan Strait in April, which mainland officials said were aimed at Taiwan’s “independence forces”.


“There have been many changes in international and regional situations, and our national security is faced with more obvious and complicated threats,” Tsai said as she attended a naval ceremony and announced the defence spending plan.
The proposed defence budget would represent almost 2.2 per cent of the island’s gross domestic product. Last year’s military budget rose by just 1.9 per cent from 2016.
About a fifth of the 2019 budget would be spent on “defence self-sufficiency” projects, Tsai said.

We need more subs, says Taiwan, as it aims to bolster its naval defences
Taiwan wants to strengthen its home-grown defence systems, particularly its submarines.
The United States government this year approved a licence required to sell submarine technology to Taiwan, part of warming relations between the two sides.
Although the US does not have official diplomatic relations with Taipei after switching recognition to Beijing in 1979, it remains the island’s most powerful ally and arms supplier.
United States prepares to stand ground on Taiwan with defence spending bill
A long-stalled offer approved by then US president George W. Bush in 2001 to supply eight conventional submarines has never come to fruition.
Last year, Taiwan also announced its bid to create a new generation of locally built jet trainers by 2026.


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Taiwan

Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen wants US$11 billion defence budget as Beijing threat grows

Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen said she wants to increase military spending as relations with Beijing deteriorate. Photo: EPA-EFE

Two US-made AH-64E Apache attack helicopters demonstrate their combat skills during a commissioning ceremony at an military base in Taoyuan on July 17, 2018. The Taiwanese army was the first force outside the United States to introduce the AH-64E variant back in 2013. / AFP PHOTO / SAM YEH

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Island facing ‘more obvious and complicated threats’, leader says as she asks for 5.6pc rise in military spending


Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen wants US$11 billion defence budget as Beijing threat grows

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Island facing ‘more obvious and complicated threats’, leader says as she asks for 5.6pc rise in military spending

Island facing ‘more obvious and complicated threats’, leader says as she asks for 5.6pc rise in military spending