Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen has called on the opposition-majority legislature to expedite the approval of a pending $40 billion special defense budget to counter the growing external threats.
President Tsai Ing-wen proposed the increased defense budget plan last year to address pressure from China, which considers Taiwan part of its territory. However, the legislature has pushed its own proposal with a lower budget that only covers partial arms purchases from the United States.
The main opposition Kuomintang (KMT) party, whose deputy leader recently visited Beijing last week, stated support for increasing the defense budget but emphasized they will not sign a blank check and reserve the right to carefully scrutinize the law’s details. They also blamed President Tsai’s government for the current political deadlock.
President Tsai told reporters at the Presidential Office that she has never demanded the legislature approve the budget unconditionally, reaffirming the government’s willingness to fully explain the plan’s details. She said, "Political parties may compete and policies can be fully debated so that the public can decide, but defense—related to national security, sovereignty, and survival—should be an area where we unite and present a single stance to the outside world."
President Tsai added that external threats are continuously increasing and the urgency to strengthen the military is growing, yet there are still attempts to obstruct defense enhancement efforts.
She emphasized that Taiwan desires peace but cannot be complacent about security conditions, and Taiwan’s military build-up does not aim to invade any country but solely to protect the way of life of the Taiwanese people.
. Source:channelnewsasia
Click to read news aboutTaiwan