TAIPEI: According to a proposal made public by the Cabinet on Thursday, Taiwan's defence budget is expected to increase by 13.9% the next year despite escalating tensions with China.

The proposal states that the entire cost of national defence in 2023 will be 586.3 Taiwan dollars (TWD) (USD 19.4 billion), according to reports.

Among other things, it contains 108.3 billion TWD for the procurement of advanced  combat jets. Large-scale military exercises were conducted earlier this month by the Chinese military in the vicinity of Taiwan in retaliation for US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to the island on August 2.

The Ministry of National Defense of Taiwan said on Thursday that China's military activities, including those involving aircraft and vessels, had increased in recent years.

For the purpose of discouraging the People's Liberation Army, the Ministry has committed to increase Taiwan's capacity for asymmetric warfare (PLA). China's frequency of warplane missions into Taiwan's Air Defense Identification Zone in 2021 substantially increased (ADIZ).

Although China regards the democratic island as being a part of its territory and opposes all official contacts between Taipei and other countries, Taiwan has had an autonomous government since 1949.Faced with Chinese saber-rattling, some have called for Taiwan to raise defense spending further. During a July visit, former U.S. defense secretary Mark T. Esper suggested that Taipei match U.S. defense expenditure as a proportion of GDP at above 3 percent.

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