Taiwan Plans Military Spending Surge to Counter Rising China
- Defense expenditures to rise to 3 percent of GDP by next year
- Tensions have grown as island’s president shifts from Beijing
This article is for subscribers only.
Taiwan plans to raise military spending by about 50 percent next year as President Tsai Ing-wen attempts to offset China’s growing might and support the local defense industry.
Military expenditures are targeted to rise to 3 percent of gross domestic product next year, up from about 2 percent this year, Minister of National Defense Feng Shih-kuan said Thursday while presenting a report outlining Tsai’s first major security review since becoming president. Taiwan plans to develop indigenous ships, airplanes, weapons and unmanned aerial vehicles, he told lawmakers in Taipei.