Taiwan to increase defense budget.

On 10 October, Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen announced she intends to enhance national security, warning her government will not submit to China's pressures amid growing military threats in the region.

Taiwan's defense budget is likely to increase by NT$18.3 billion (US$592 million) in 2019, growing by 5.6 percent compared to the previous year (Picture source: US Naval Institute)

President Tsai Ing-wen said Taiwan would increase its defence budget annually, while further developing its domestic defence industries. Using a National Day speech to reinforce Taiwan's self-rule, Tsai said the island would use all methods to prevent infiltration by other countries. She added China's increased pressure on Taiwan had challenged the status quo across the Taiwan Strait, but Taiwan will not recklessly provoke Beijing.

Taiwan's Premier William Lai already said that the country’s defense budget is likely to increase by NT$18.3 billion (US$592 million) in 2019, growing by 5.6 percent compared to the previous year, which stood at NT$327.7 billion (US$10.6 billion). The defense budget for the coming year accounts for roughly 2.16 percent of Taiwan's Gross Domestic Product (GDP), the highest over the past 10 years. 

The U.S. authorities have constantly expressed that Taiwan should increase its defense budget as the imbalance of military capabilities across the Taiwan Strait has grown rapidly in recent years. The U.S. National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for 2019 includes provisions supporting senior military-to-military engagement between the U.S. and Taiwan, and states that the U.S. should provide military sales to Taiwan, particularly for developing its asymmetric warfare capabilities.

In 2018, the island lost three allies who switched diplomatic allegiance to Beijing and saw its giant neighbour send bombers and fighter jets for encirclement drills around Taiwan. "The best way to defend Taiwan is to make it indispensable and irreplaceable to the world," Tsai said. China and Taiwan separated during a civil war in 1949 and Beijing considers the island a part of its territory - to be taken control of by force if necessary.