Taiwan must pass defence spending to avoid giving wrong imression

If Taiwan's opposition-controlled parliament continues to block $40 billion in proposed extra defence spending the international community could misunderstand the island's determination to defend itself, President Lai Ching-te said on Wednesday.



Pressure from politicans in the United States, Chinese-claimed Taiwan's most important international backer and arms supplier despite a lack ⁠of formal diplomatic ties, has grown on parliament not to hold up defence spending.



On Monday, ‌U.S. Senator Roger Wicker, ⁠chairman of the Armed Services Committee and one of the strongest advocates for Taiwan in the U.S. Congress, wrote on X that he was "disappointed" to see Taiwan's opposition parties slash Lai's defence budget.



At a meeting of his Democratic Progressive Party, Lai said if the opposition continued blocking the plans and ⁠presses on with their own version, "This is bound to delay improvements to defence capabilities".



That "could lead the international community to misunderstand Taiwan's determination to defend itself and to safeguard peace in the Indo-Pacific"..



Another U.S. lawmaker, Republican Senator Dan Sullivan, a staunch Trump administration supporter, directly criticised the Kuomintang (KMT), Taiwan's largest opposition party, senior officials of which are now visiting Beijing.