Taiwan president says record defence spending is investment in peace
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President Lai Ching-te confirmed that 2027’s overall defence budget would exceed NT$1 trillion (S$40 billion) for the first time..
PHOTO: REUTERS
- Taiwan plans a record defence budget of T$1.1225 trillion in 2027, exceeding 3% of GDP, to strengthen self-defence and maintain peace in the Taiwan Strait.
- President Lai stresses that defence spending is an investment in peace amid rising military pressure from China and calls from the US to boost Taiwan's defence.
- Taiwan continues military modernisation with drills simulating Chinese threats, while facing political challenges as opposition parties demand scrutiny over defence spending.
AI generated
TAIPEI – Taiwan is determined to strengthen its defences and plans record defence spending in 2027, President Lai Ching-te said on Aug 17, describing his government’s military budget proposal as an investment in peace.
Taiwan’s Cabinet will formally unveil the 2027 budget on Aug 20, including a breakdown of where defence spending will go, but Lai confirmed media reports that 2027’s overall defence budget would exceed NT$1 trillion (S$40 billion) for the first time.
His announcement comes as China, which views democratically governed Taiwan as its own territory, has ramped up military and political pressure over the past few years to assert its claims, which Taipei strongly rejects.
But Taiwan also faces calls from Washington to spend more on its own defence, mirroring US pressure on Europe, something Lai has enthusiastically embraced.
Addressing a meeting about the 2027 budget, Lai said defence spending in 2027 would reach NT$1.1225 trillion – exceeding 3 per cent of gross domestic product, according to a transcript of the remarks released by his office.
He said this “demonstrates Taiwan’s determination to strengthen its self-defence capabilities”.
“Investing in defence is investing in peace; we will continue to build a more solid defence force to maintain peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait and the region,” Lai said.
Taiwan’s government has made military modernisation a key policy platform and has repeatedly pledged to spend more on its defences, including developing made-in-Taiwan submarines, given the rising threat from China.
China’s military operates almost daily in the waters and skies around Taiwan, and Beijing has also been honing new tactics, such as coast guard “law enforcement” patrols off Taiwan’s east coast in the Pacific Ocean.
William Chung, an assistant research fellow at the Institute for National Defence and Security Research, a Taiwan Defence Ministry think-tank, said China’s east coast activities were not only aimed at exerting psychological pressure, but also combat training and intelligence gathering.
“If actual hostilities break out across the Taiwan Strait, the entire eastern maritime area of Taiwan will be Taiwan’s most critical outlet to the outside world,” he told a forum in Taipei earlier on Aug 17.
Taiwan finished its annual Han Kuang military drills last week, simulating a range of battle scenarios including how to break a potential Chinese maritime blockade.
China’s Defence Ministry called the drills a “wasteful charade” that “stoked war panic”.
Lai also faces a challenge from Taiwan’s opposition-dominated Parliament, which passed the 2026 budget only late on Aug 14 after months of delays.
The two main opposition parties say they will not write blank cheques for the government.
REUTERS
