As PLA threat grows, Taiwan’s bid to boost defence ‘may lead to conflict’

Mainland analyst says extra military spending will only add to tensions and ‘is likely to increase the risk of misjudgment’

Funds will be used for precision and long-range missiles as well as naval ships to strengthen the island’s air and sea defences

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A Taiwanese corvette fires flares during a navy drill earlier this month. The island lives with the threat of invasion by Beijing. Photo: dpa

Published: 8:00am, 23 Jan 2022Updated: 9:46pm, 23 Jan 2022

Taiwan is boosting defence in the face of growing pressure from Beijing, a move mainland Chinese analysts say could worsen tensions across the strait.

The self-ruled island lives with the threat of invasion by Beijing, which claims Taiwan as its own territory to be taken back – by force if necessary.

It has stepped up military intimidation of Taiwan, sending a record number of People’s Liberation Army fighter jets and bombers into the island’s air defence zone last year – and doing so on an almost daily basis.

Taiwanese lawmakers earlier this month passed an extra spending bill of NT$237 billion (US$8.6 billion) for defence over five years, on top of a record NT$471.1 billion (US$17 billion) annual military budget.

The additional funds will be used to mass-produce precision and long-range missiles as well as naval ships to boost the island’s air and sea defences, according to the defence ministry’s budget report.

It also includes a coastal anti-ship missiles system, cruise missiles, an attack drone project, and a combat weapons system for the island’s coastguard.