Taiwan unveils plans to make record boost in defense spending

The island nation of Taiwan recently unveiled its plans to increase its defense spending. The move comes amid tensions with China, with Beijing holding military exercises close by.

The government of Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen announced Thursday that it was going to increase defense spending by 13.9 percent. The increase would include additional funding for new fighter jets and other equipment and would take the defense budget up to $19.41 billion, or about 15 percent of Taiwan’s total government expenditure.

The proposed budget has yet to be confirmed by parliament. Tsai said Taiwan’s determination to defend its sovereignty would remain despite pressure and threats from China. China claims the democratically-governed island as its territory and has pressured Taiwan to accept Beijing’s rule.

“At the same time, as a responsible member of the international community, Taiwan will not provoke incidents or escalate conflicts,” said Tsai. Tsai, who leads the Democratic Progressive Party, has pledged to modernize Taiwan’s armed forces.

Back in March, China announced plans to spend over $200 billion on defense, which some analysts say understates the scale of its spending on its military. China has been holding large-scale military drills close to the island in recent weeks out of anger from the visit of US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to the island.

China has accused the United States of trying to overturn the diplomatic policy on the island. While Washington said it does not support Taiwan’s independence, it strongly opposes any attempt to forcefully change the status quo. The US is also treaty-bound to supply Taiwan with weapons to defend itself.

Following Pelosi’s visit, more and more US officials have visited the island, in further defiance of Beijing. The latest visit was from US Republican Senator Marsha Blackburn, who arrived in Taiwan Thursday.

“Taiwan is our strongest partner in the Indo-Pacific Region. Regular high-level visits to Taipei are long-standing US policy,” Blackburn said in a statement. “I will not be bullied by Communist China into turning my back on the island.”

Taiwan has strong bipartisan support in a very divided US Congress.

Blackburn met with Tsai, as well as top security official Wellington Koo and foreign minister Joseph Wu.