Taiwan puts $40 billion toward U.S. weapons and defense dome

Taiwan's President Lai Ching-te on Wednesday announced a special $40-billion budget for arms purchases, including to build an air defense system with high-level detection and interception capabilities called Taiwan Dome, as the U.

- BY TAIJING WU AND HUIZHONG WU

S. pressures the island to increase its defense spending.The budget will be allocated over eight years, from 2026 to 2033, and comes after Lai already pledged to raise defense spending to 5% of the island's gross domestic product, as part of his strategy amid China's threats of invasion.

"China's threats to Taiwan and the Indo-Pacific region are escalating," Lai said Wednesday. "Recently, various types of military intrusions, maritime gray zones and disinformation campaigns have been occurring in Japan, the Philippines and around the Taiwan Strait, causing deep unease and distress to all parties in the region."

"Taiwan, as the most important and most critical part of the first island chain, must demonstrate our determination and take on a greater responsibility in self-defense," he said, referring to the string of islands stretching from Japan's East China Sea through the Philippines in the Pacific Ocean.