Taiwan President Lai Ching-te has urged the opposition-majority parliament to expedite the approval of the pending $40 billion special defense budget to address the escalating external threats.
President Lai Ching-te proposed this defense budget increase last year to counter pressure from China, which regards Taiwan as part of its territory. However, the parliament has pushed its own proposal with a lower budget that only covers partial arms purchases from the United States.
The main opposition party, Kuomintang (KMT), whose deputy leader recently visited Beijing last week, stated support for increasing the defense budget but refused to sign a blank check. They insisted on thoroughly reviewing the law's details and blamed President Lai's government for causing the current political deadlock.
President Lai told reporters at the presidential office that he never demanded unconditional budget approval and emphasized the government's willingness to fully explain the plan. He stated, "Political parties may compete and policies may be debated extensively so the public can decide, but defense matters involving national security, sovereignty, and survival should be an area where we unite and present a single stance to the outside world."
He added that external threats are continuously increasing, making military strengthening more urgent, yet efforts to bolster defense capabilities are still being obstructed.
He reiterated that Taiwan seeks peace but cannot be complacent about security conditions. Taiwan’s defense enhancement is not aimed at aggression toward any country but solely to protect the way of life of the Taiwanese people.
. Source:channelnewsasia
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