TAIPEI: Taiwan’s government plans to increase its 2026 defence budget to more than three per cent of GDP, the premier said Thursday (Aug 21), as it faces US pressure to invest more in its own protection.
Taipei has ramped up investment in military equipment and weapons over the past decade in response to intensifying pressure from China, which claims the democratic island as part of its territory and has threatened to seize it by force.
Premier Cho Jung-tai said the latest hike was “another concrete demonstration to the world and the people of Taiwan of our resolve and ability to safeguard national sovereignty and security”.
The proposed spending needs to be approved by the opposition-controlled parliament before it can take effect.
Taiwan’s cabinet has allocated NT$949.5 billion (US$31.1 billion), or 3.32 per cent of GDP, for defence spending next year, budget documents show.
That is an increase of 22.9 per cent on this year.
The 2026 budget includes NT$135.9 billion in spending on the Coast Guard Administration and military retirement benefits, which were not included last year.
“Our total defence budget is calculated using NATO’s model and standards,” Cho told reporters.
Cho gave the figure 3.23 per cent during the news conference but the cabinet later confirmed to AFP that 3.32 per cent is the correct number.
Cho said overall expenditure for 2026 was budgeted at just over NT$3 trillion – up NT$110 billion or around 3.8 per cent from 2025.
President Lai Ching-te has previously vowed to increase defence spending to more than three percent of GDP as Washington pressured the island and other governments around the world to spend more on their own security.
Military expert Chieh Chung said if spending on the coast guard and pensions was stripped out, the defence budget would be 2.84 per cent of GDP.
“As for Washington’s reaction, I think it will welcome Taiwan’s move to increase its defence budget, but it is still far from what they would be satisfied with,” said Chieh, an analyst at the Association of Strategic Foresight.
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/east-asia/taiwan-defence-budget-increase-3-percent-5306201
