Politics China threat: Taiwan wants to increase defense spending
The island state of Taiwan wants to significantly increase its defense spending in response to the military threat posed by its large neighbor China.
26.11.2025, 06:23
SDA
President Lai Ching-te explained that Taipei is planning a "historic" additional defense budget of 1.25 trillion Taiwan dollars (around 34.4 billion euros).
Taiwan wants to use the planned expenditure for 2026 to 2033 to finance new weapons purchases from the USA and expand its asymmetric defense capabilities, Lai wrote in a guest article for the "Washington Post". The move is a reaction to growing pressure from Beijing. China counts the island state, which has been democratically governed for decades, as part of its territory and wants to bind Taiwan to itself - by military means if necessary.
China's growing military power
According to Lai, Taiwan's defense spending is set to rise to 3.3 percent of economic output in 2026. "I am determined to raise this benchmark to 5 percent by 2030, which is the largest sustained military investment in Taiwan's modern history," he wrote. However, the defense spending still has to be approved by parliament, which is currently dominated by the opposition, especially the China-friendly Kuomintang.
Lai referred to China's military exercises in the region, which signaled Beijing's increasing willingness to use force to change the status quo in the strait between China and Taiwan. Taiwan is steadfastly committed to peace and stability, he continued in the newspaper.
US President Donald Trump's administration has called on Taiwan to invest more in its own military. The article also follows a diplomatic escalation between Beijing and Tokyo. This was triggered by statements made by Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, according to which an attack by China on Taiwan would represent a "situation that threatens the existence of Japan" and could lead to Japan exercising its right to self-defense.
Conflict between China and Japan: solidarity with sushi
Beijing is demanding that Takaichi retract her statements and has increased the pressure with travel warnings, canceled flight connections and an import ban on Japanese seafood, among other things. Lai and other politicians in Taiwan showed solidarity with Tokyo and posted online, for example, how they ate sushi or bought Japanese seafood.
Japan's Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi provided fresh fuel with a plan to station missiles on the island of Yonaguni in Japan's far southwest. The island is located almost 110 kilometers from Taiwan. China's foreign office criticized Japan for deliberately creating tensions in the region.
