Taiwan will propose a landmark US $40 billion supplementary defense budget aimed at accelerating major arms purchases from the United States and dramatically boosting deterrence against China, President Lai Ching-te said in an op-ed published in the Washington Post.
The proposal — one of the largest single-year boosts in Taiwan’s defense spending — underscores Taipei’s urgent push to modernize its armed forces as Beijing intensifies military pressure around the island, flying record numbers of fighter jets across the Taiwan Strait median line and expanding grey-zone tactics in surrounding waters. China claims Taiwan as its own territory, rejecting Lai’s repeated calls for dialogue and branding him a “separatist”.
Lai said the new package would fund “significant” arms acquisitions from the United States, including systems focused on asymmetric warfare — a strategy that prioritizes mobile missile units, drones, mines and air defenses to counter a much larger adversary.
“This landmark package will not only fund significant new arms acquisitions from the United States, but also vastly enhance Taiwan’s asymmetrical capabilities,” Lai wrote. “In doing so, we aim to bolster deterrence by inserting greater costs and uncertainties into Beijing’s decision-making on the use of force.”
The United States is legally obliged under the Taiwan Relations Act to provide Taipei with the means to defend itself. However, defense experts note that American production lines remain stretched, and long-standing backlogs in arms deliveries to Taiwan — estimated at more than US $19 billion — have raised concerns in Taipei.
Since President Donald Trump returned to office in January, his administration has so far approved only one new Taiwan arms package: a US $330 million sale of fighter jet and aircraft parts earlier this month. Lai nevertheless praised Washington’s posture, saying “the international community is safer today because of the Trump administration’s pursuit of peace through strength.”
Taiwan has steadily increased defense spending since 2020, but the new proposal marks a dramatic escalation. Government budget documents show that Taiwan intends to raise annual defense spending to T$949.5 billion (US $30.25 billion) in 2026 — roughly 3.32% of GDP and the first time Taipei has surpassed the 3% threshold since 2009.
Lai said he hopes defense spending will reach 5% of GDP by 2030, a level that would put Taiwan closer to front-line states such as Israel. Washington has long urged Taipei to invest more in self-defense, mirroring similar U.S. pressure on European allies within NATO.
Analysts say the scale of the package signals that Lai’s administration now expects China’s military coercion to intensify further. The People’s Liberation Army has spent the last five years conducting near-daily pressure campaigns around Taiwan, including large-scale encirclement drills in 2022 and 2023.
China did not immediately respond to the op-ed, but Beijing typically denounces major shifts in Taiwan’s defense posture as “provocations” or “moves toward independence.” Chinese state media have intensified attacks on Lai since his inauguration, and PLA aircraft have repeatedly broken new records for incursions near Taiwan.
Western officials say China is unlikely to launch a short-term attack but warn that the PLA is moving steadily toward a position where a blockade or coercive campaign becomes more feasible.
Despite the massive new defense investment, Lai emphasized in the op-ed that his government remains open to dialogue with Beijing. China has rejected all such overtures since Lai took office, demanding he first accept its position that Taiwan is part of China — a condition Lai refuses.
“While we will continue to pursue opportunities for cross-strait dialogue, with the understanding that our democracy and freedom remain non-negotiable, we remain grounded by more than wishful thinking,” Lai wrote.
Taipei’s dual strategy — boosting deterrence while maintaining political outreach — echoes the approach of Lai’s predecessor, Tsai Ing-wen. But analysts say the proposed US $40 billion package signals a far more ambitious military reshaping, one aimed at making any future Chinese attack prohibitively costly.
(Source: Reuters)
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