Taiwan's president pledges to build air defence system amid threat from China

Taiwan will accelerate the building of a “Taiwan Shield” or “T-Dome’ air defense systemin the face of the military threat from China, its leader said Friday.

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President Lai Ching-te also pledged to raise defense spending to more than 3% of GDP and to reach 5% by 2030. GDP, or gross domestic product, is a measure of the size of the overall economy,

“The increase in defense spending has a purpose,” he said in an address to an outdoor crowd on Taiwan National Day. “It is a clear necessity to counter enemy threats and a driving force for developing our defense industries.”

Taiwan is a self-governing island off China's east coast that the Chinese government claims as part of its territory and says must come under its rule.

The United States, while not recognizing Taiwan as a country, supplies its government with military equipment for its defense and opposes any use of military force by China to settle its dispute with Taiwan.