Lai defends higher defense spending on National Day

Taiwan's president, Lai Ching-te, defended higher defense spending on Saturday, Oct. 10, during the speech for the 115th National Day, known as Double Ten, in Taipei. China's Taiwan Affairs Office condemned it.

According to the official text published by Focus Taiwan, Lai said strengthening defense is "not to provoke, but to deter war." He urged Indo-Pacific democracies to "join forces" to keep the region stable. In AP's summary, the island values peace but will not give up its freedom.

Lai added that Taipei welcomes dialogue between Washington and Beijing. Self-defense, he said, aims to make that dialogue happen "on the basis of parity and dignity."

The response came from the Taiwan Affairs Office, the Chinese government body that handles the island. According to AP, its spokesperson, Zhang Han, accused Lai of clinging to "Taiwan independence," exaggerating the threat from the mainland and promoting a false narrative of "democracy versus authoritarianism." The same office said, according to Al Jazeera, that Taiwan is part of China and that there is only one China in the world.

The speech gives no figures. Al Jazeera reports that Taiwan's government allocated a record 1.1 trillion Taiwan dollars for defense in 2027, about $34 500 million by the outlet's conversion, more than 3% of GDP. The figure comes from a single outlet and still needs confirmation.

Before the event, Taiwan's Defense Ministry detected 21 Chinese military aircraft and seven warships over 24 hours, up to 6:00 a.m. Saturday, and 13 of the aircraft crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait, according to AP. King Mswati III of Eswatini, the island's only diplomatic ally in Africa, attended.

Taiwan and China have been governed separately since 1949. Beijing presses Washington against arms sales to the island, especially since the May summit between Donald Trump and Xi Jinping. AP reports that a $14 billion package, the largest of its kind, has been on hold since that meeting.