Taiwan President Says Defense Budget Will Exceed 3% of GDP

Taiwanese President William Lai Ching-te said the defense budget will exceed 3 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) as the country strengthens its military in the face of a growing threat from China.

William Lai said on Thursday he is determined to ensure defense spending exceeds 3 percent of GDP.

"At the same time, we will continue to reform our national defense," he added in a speech delivered at the American Chamber of Commerce.

In addition to more modern equipment -- much of it purchased from the United States -- the military has been asking for funds to retain more troops at higher salaries and to extend mandatory national service from four months to a year.

Lai's comments were the latest reassurance to critics, both American and domestic, who say Taiwan is not spending enough on defense.

The island, which relies on the United States for much of its advanced weaponry, currently spends about 2.45 percent of its GDP on its military.

US President Donald Trump has demanded that Taiwan increase defense spending by up to 10 percent of GDP, a proportion well above what the US or any of its major allies spend, in order to deter China.

Lai said Taiwan plans to "advance... cooperation with the United States and other democracies in maintaining regional stability and prosperity."

On Monday, at least 59 Chinese fighter jets flew over Taiwan, the highest number since October.

The Chinese government said the military activity was a "firm punishment" against the Taiwanese leader after William Lai labeled Beijing a "hostile foreign force."

A spokesman for the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council (China's executive branch) accused Lai of "escalating confrontation" in the Taiwan Strait.

According to China's official Xinhua news agency, Chen Binhua described the Chinese military maneuvers as necessary, justified and "a powerful deterrent against separatist forces."

In a statement released late Monday, Taiwan's Foreign Ministry expressed "strong condemnation" of China's military actions and denounced the Chinese Communist Party as one that "steadily" expands its presence in the region, challenges the status quo and "resorts to gray area coercion" to undermine stability.

Lai, considered an "independence fighter" and a rabble-rouser by Beijing, branded China a "hostile foreign force" on March 13 in one of his harshest speeches since taking office.

Taiwan has been governed autonomously since 1949 and has its own army and a political, economic and social system different from that of the People's Republic of China, but Beijing considers Taiwan an "inalienable part" of Chinese territory.