Taiwan plans record defense budget

Taiwan’s government proposed a record defense budget for next year in response to growing military pressure from Beijing.

China, which regards the island as a renegade province, has increasingly deployed its military close to Taiwan and has been building new, permanent structures in its exclusive economic zone, in what experts say is a bid to “salami slice” its de facto sovereignty.

The $31 billion spending program Taipei unveiled is one of a number of efforts to respond, such as expanding live-fire exercises to include the use of first-person view drones and simulating a maritime blockade. But while the US backs Taiwan’s increased defense spending, domestic political opinion is divided, and the Beijing-friendly opposition blocked a previous defense budget.