Taiwan’s President William Lai Ching-te pledged to accelerate the building of a “T-Dome” air defence system in the face of military threats and overall increased defence spending.
Lai on Friday said his government would establish a rigorous defence system with high-level detection and effective interception.
“The increase in defence spending has a purpose; it is a clear necessity to counter enemy threats and a driving force for developing our defence industries,” he said in his National Day address, to applause from the crowd.
“We will accelerate our building of the T-Dome, establish a rigorous air defence system in Taiwan with multi-layered defence, high-level detection, and effective interception, and weave a safety net for Taiwan to protect the lives and property of citizens.”
Lai also pledged to increase defence spending to more than 3 percent of gross domestic product and to reach 5 percent by 2030.
Much of Taiwan’s existing air defence systems are primarily based on the United States-made Patriot and the Taiwan-developed Sky Bow missiles.
Taiwan is a self-governing island off China’s east coast that the Chinese government claims as its territory and says must come under its rule.
Lai called Taiwan a “hub of peace and stability” in the Asia Pacific region, drawing a distinction with China’s one-party state.
“Democratic Taiwan … will strive to maintain the status quo, protect peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait, and promote regional prosperity and development,” Lai said.
China and Taiwan split during a civil war that brought the Communist Party to power in China in 1949. The defeated Nationalist Party forces fled to Taiwan, where they set up their own government.
The Chinese military regularly sends fighter jets and warships into the skies and waters off Taiwan and has staged major military exercises in the area in recent years.
The US, like most countries, does not recognise Taiwan as a country, but it supplies the government with military equipment for its defence and opposes any use of military force by China to settle its dispute with Taiwan.
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