Taiwan’s defence ministry plans to seek up to a record $33 billion in special funding to upgrade the island’s defences against a potential Chinese attack, a senior lawmaker told AFP.

The ministry is working on a special budget of between NT$800 billion and NT$1 trillion ($26 billion and $33 billion) over seven years, said Wang Ting-yu, who belongs to President Lai Ching-te’s Democratic Progressive Party and sits on the parliamentary Foreign Affairs and National Defence Committee.

The final amount has not been finalised as Taiwan negotiates with the United States over potential arms sales that would be included in the special budget, Wang told AFP in an interview this week.

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“We want to build a complete defence ecology to defend our country,” Wang said, describing the plans as a “huge” upgrade to the island’s self-defence capabilities.

Wang said the plans included integrating Taiwan’s air defence systems; acquiring from overseas partners more advanced technology to detect small drones, rockets and missiles and ensure a rapid response to an attack; and increasing the island’s capacity to produce and store ammunition for wartime.

Taiwan lives under the constant threat of invasion by China, which claims the self-ruled island is part of its territory and has threatened to seize it by force.

AFP