Taiwan on Thursday proposed $19 billion in defense spending for the next year, a double-digit increase over 2022 that includes funding for new fighter jets. The expansion comes weeks after China held large-scale military exercises around the island that the Chinese see as their territory.
China has carried out its biggest war practices around the democratically ruled island following a visit this month by US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi. The trip infuriated Beijing, which saw it as an attempt by the US to interfere in China’s internal affairs.
The overall defense budget proposed by President Tsai Ing-wen’s cabinet calls for a 13.9% year-on-year increase to a record $19.41 billion.
The planned defense spending, which must be approved by Parliament, marks the sixth consecutive year of growth in the island’s defense spending since 2017.
The double-digit increase marks a leap in comparison to the growth of the island’s defense spending in recent years; annual growth is below 4% since 2017.
Source: CNN Brasil
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