Taiwan boosts defense spending in face of Chinese military prodding

CHRISTCHURCH, New Zealand — Taiwan’s Cabinet, the Executive Yuan, this week ratified a record defense budget of NT$647 billion, or US$20.2 billion, meant to help defend Taiwan against the prospect of a Chinese invasion .

The spending decision comes as Chinese forces continue their prodding of the island, which Beijing views as a rogue province. As of Aug. 22, People’s Liberation Army intrusions into Taiwan’s air defense identification zone – 1,739 incidents in 2024 – had already reached an annual record.

Taiwan’s defense expenditures in 2025 will represent a 7.7% increase if lawmakers approve the proposal later this month. The country’s Central News Agency said the allocation represent 2.45% of GDP, almost identical to this year’s.

President Lai Ching-te’s election campaign promised that defense spending would reach 3% of GDP. Lt Gen. Hsieh Chi-hsien, head of the Ministry of National Defense’s Comptroller Bureau, told a press conference that increasing spending to that level remained a goal.

“However, we must still compile the defense budget based on weapons needed to shore up our defenses. We also need to take into account the nation’s financial situation,” he said.

Asked whether the envisioned 2025 spending would be sufficient, Rupert Hammond-Chambers, President of the US-Taiwan Business Council, told Defense News: “Answering this question is highly subjective. Should Taiwan be commended for increasing its defense budget by 7.7%? Absolutely. It’s real growth with new resources to address the threat from China.”

At the same time, Hammond-Chambers said more will be needed. “Taiwan needs to continue to grow its defense budget in real terms, surpassing 3% of GDP and higher in the near term.”

According to Hsieh, the coming defense budget comprises NT$181.5 billion for personnel expenses, and NT$148.7 billion for equipment maintenance. Procurements are set to increase by 16% to NT$145.8 billion in 2025, with payments due for American equipment.

Some NT$90.4 billion is earmarked as part of a five-year, special budget worth NT$240 billion that was announced in 2021 to purchase items like F-16V fighters and missiles.

“We’re determined to boost self-defense and deepen cooperation with democratic partners in a bid to ensure peace and prosperity,” Lai said.

According to Hammond-Chambers, Taiwan is making “good progress” in key areas of domestic weapons production, like missiles, drones and shipbuilding.

“Overall, the mix of platforms and systems between foreign-procured and domestically developed is healthy, and receives strong support from the Lai and Biden governments,” he said, referring to U.S. President Joe Biden.

“The time it takes to deliver weapons from American factories remains a challenge,” he noted. “That said, the weapons presently queued for delivery should be delivered to Taiwan in the next 18-24 months, and we’ll see a substantial drop in the amount and value of the equipment presently undelivered. This should open up Taiwan’s defense budget for a new phase of procurement.”

Gordon Arthur is an Asia correspondent for Defense News. After a 20-year stint working in Hong Kong, he now resides in New Zealand. He has attended military exercises and defense exhibitions in about 20 countries around the Asia-Pacific region.

新西兰基督城——台湾行政院本周批准了创纪录的国防预算，金额达6470亿新台币（约合202亿美元），旨在帮助台湾抵御中国入侵的可能性。

这项支出决定出台之际，中国军队正持续向台湾施压，北京方面将台湾视为一个叛离省份。截至8月22日，解放军入侵台湾防空识别区的事件——2024年已达1739起——已创下年度纪录。

如果立法委员在本月晚些时候批准该提案，台湾2025年的国防开支将增长7.7%。台湾中央通讯社称，这笔拨款占GDP的2.45%，与今年的水平几乎相同。

赖清德总统竞选时承诺，国防开支将达到国内生产总值的3%。国防部财务局局长谢志贤中将在记者会上表示，将国防开支提高到这一水平仍然是目标。

“但是，我们仍然必须根据加强防御所需的武器来编制国防预算。我们还需要考虑国家的财政状况，”他说。

当被问及设想的2025年国防开支是否足够时，美台商业协会主席鲁珀特·哈蒙德-钱伯斯告诉《防务新闻》：“回答这个问题非常主观。台湾将国防预算增加7.7%是否值得称赞？当然值得。这是实实在在的增长，新增资源用于应对来自中国的威胁。”

与此同时，哈蒙德-钱伯斯表示，还需要更多投入。“台湾需要继续提高国防预算的实际占比，短期内超过GDP的3%，甚至更高。”

谢先生表示，即将到来的国防预算包括1815亿新台币的人员开支和1487亿新台币的装备维护费用。采购预算预计在2025年增长16%，达到1458亿新台币，其中包括购买美国装备的款项。

其中约有904亿新台币被指定为2021年宣布的五年特别预算2400亿新台币的一部分，用于购买F-16V战斗机和导弹等物品。

赖清德说：“我们决心加强自卫，深化与民主伙伴的合作，以确保和平与繁荣。”

据哈蒙德-钱伯斯称，台湾在导弹、无人机和造船等国内武器生产的关键领域取得了“良好进展”。

“总体而言，外国采购和国内开发的平台和系统组合是健康的，并得到了赖政府和拜登政府的大力支持，”他说道，这里指的是美国总统乔·拜登。

他指出：“从美国工厂交付武器所需的时间仍然是个挑战。不过，目前排队等待交付的武器应该会在未来18到24个月内运抵台湾，届时未交付装备的数量和价值将大幅下降。这将为台湾的国防预算腾出空间，使其进入新一轮的采购阶段。”

戈登·阿瑟是《防务新闻》的亚洲特派记者。在香港工作20年后，他现居新西兰。他曾到访亚太地区约20个国家，参加过军事演习和防务展览。