Defence spending shows determination to protect Taiwan, president says
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FILE PHOTO: Taiwan President Lai Ching-te speaks in front of a Teng Yun unmanned aerial vehicle during a visit to the National Chung-Shan Institute of Science and Technology (NCSIST) to inspect developments in drone technology in Taichung, Taiwan, July 17
TAIPEI, Sept 2 (Reuters) - Taiwan's plan for defence spending next year to exceed T$1 trillion ($31.47 billion) for the first time shows the international community the island's determination to strengthen its defences, President Lai Ching-te said on Wednesday.
Beijing, which views democratically governed Taiwan as its own territory, has ramped up military and political pressure over the past few years to assert its claims, which Taipei strongly rejects.
Speaking to military officers on Taiwan's Armed Forces Day, Lai said better preparations brought greater security.
"Only by continuously enhancing defence capabilities and deterrent power can national security and regional peace be better ensured," he said.
Next year's proposed defence budget "demonstrates to the international community Taiwan's determination to strengthen its self-defence capabilities," Lai added.
The government will continue to implement defence self-reliance, develop the military industrial sector, artificial intelligence, and unmanned vehicles, and "enhance Taiwan's overall capability to respond to future challenges," he said.
Speaking in Beijing at around the same time as Lai, a spokesperson for China's Taiwan Affairs Office said Lai and his administration "recklessly incite cross-strait confrontation and antagonism while lavishly squandering the people's hard-earned money."
Lai's attempts to "resist reunification through force" are "nothing but a case of overestimating their own strength, which will only bring profound disaster to the people of Taiwan," spokesperson Zhang Han told a regular press briefing.
China's determination to defend national sovereignty and territorial integrity is unwavering, she added.
Lai says only Taiwan's people can decide their future.
($1 = 31.7770 Taiwan dollars)
(Reporting by Ben Blanchard; Additional reporting by Beijing newsroom; Editing by Kate Mayberry)
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