Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia – The Taiwanese government has proposed a defense budget of US$ 16.8 billion or equivalent to Rp. 242 trillion for next year. This comes after the island region has recently continued to experience military tensions with China.
Quotes SCMP, Thursday (26/8) this budget rose 5.2% when compared to the 2021 defense budget. Cabinet spokesman Lo Ping-cheng said that in the budget, Taipei would allocate US$ 1.4 billion to buy advanced fighter aircraft. However, he did not elaborate further on the fighter aircraft in question.
In addition to the warplanes, some Taiwanese media reported that the region’s defense ministry proposed a special budget to increase missile manufacturing by its main weapons maker, the National Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology.
“The funds will be used to mass-produce missiles with precision and long-range capabilities,” reports Taipei Times on Sunday (22/8/2021), citing an unnamed source.
In addition, the island’s navy is also seeking to have anti-submarine warfare helicopters included in the budget.
The United States (US) which supports Taiwan has previously asked Taipei to increase its defense budget in order to increase the country’s defense equipment. In fact, many of Taipei’s coveted combat equipment were purchased from Uncle Sam’s country.
Taiwan itself is currently experiencing great pressure from China. Beijing, which claims that the island belongs to it, has several times carried out military maneuvers that are considered disturbing the region in the Pacific.
Tensions between the two sides themselves have increased in the Taiwan Strait since Tsai Ing-Wen was elected president in 2016. Tsai himself refused to accept the one-China principle that angered Beijing.
Tsai has continued to explore Taiwan’s relations with the US. This makes Beijing’s pressure on Taiwan even more massive.
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