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That proposed spending accounts for 14.6 per cent of the government’s total spending for next year and is the fourth-largest spending segment, after social welfare and combined spending on education, science and culture, and economic development.
The island last year announced an extra defence budget of US$8.69 billion by 2026, which came on top of its yearly military spending, mostly on naval weapons, including missiles and warships.
In March, China said it would spend 7.1 per cent more on defence this year, setting the spending figure at 1.45 trillion yuan (US$211.62 billion), though many experts suspect that is not the true figure, an assertion the government disputes.
China has been continuing its military activities near Taiwan, though on a reduced scale.
Live-fire drills will take place in a coastal part of China’s Fujian province on Friday and Saturday, just north of the tiny Taiwan-controlled Wuchiu islands in the Taiwan Strait, Fujian authorities said on Wednesday, announcing a no-sail zone.
Last year, Taiwan recorded incursions by around 970 Chinese warplanes into its air defence zone, according to a database compiled by AFP, more than double the roughly 380 in 2020.
The figure this year already exceeded 980, with more than 360 incursions being recorded in August alone.
The increased activity puts further stress on Taiwan’s outgunned military resources, especially its ageing fleet of fighter jets.
“There have been significant increases in operation maintainance in response to the cross-strait situation, as our aircraft and naval ships have been (increasingly) deployed,” budgeting chief Chu Tzer-ming told reporters.
Taiwanese President Tsai has made modernising the armed forces – well-armed but dwarfed by China’s – a priority.
China is spending on advanced equipment, including stealthy fighters and aircraft carriers, which Taiwan is trying to counter by putting more effort into weapons such as missiles that can strike far into its giant neighbour’s territory.
China has not ruled out using force to bring the island under its control. Taiwan rejects Beijing’s sovereignty claims, saying that the People’s Republic of China has never ruled the island and that only Taiwan’s people can decide their future.
Meeting visiting Japanese academics at her office on Thursday, Tsai reiterated that the determination to protect their sovereignty, freedom and democracy would not change “due to pressure or threats”.
“At the same time, as a responsible member of the international community, Taiwan will not provoke incidents nor escalate conflicts,” Tsai said, in comments made live on her social media pages.
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