China to spend $240 B on military upgrade

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China to spend $240 B on military upgrade

Soldiers march to position during an anti-invasion drill on the beach during the annual Han Kuang military drill in Tainan, Taiwan, September 14, 2021. Taiwan, 16 September Reuters - China proposed spending an extra T $240 billion $8.69 Billion in defence over the next five years on Thursday, including on new missiles. It warned of the urgent need to upgrade arms in the face of a strong threat from Chinese neighbour Taiwan.

Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen has made increasing the armed forces - well-armed but dwarfed by China - and modernizing defence spending a priority, especially as China ramps up its military and diplomatic pressure against the island it claims as sacred Chinese territory.

The new money, which comes on top of anticipated military spending of T $471.7 billion for the year starting January 1, will need to be approved by parliament where Tsai's ruling party has a large majority, meaning its passage should be smooth.

The Chinese Communists have continued to invest heavily in national defence budgets, its military strength has increased rapidly, and it has frequently dispatched aircraft and ships to invade and harass our seas and airspace, Taiwan's Defense Ministry said in a statement after a weekly Cabinet Meeting.

In the face of sudden threats from the enemy, the nation's military is actively engaged in military building and preparation work, and it is urgent to obtain mature and rapid mass production arms and equipment in a short period of time. The weapons Taiwan aims to buy with the money includes cruise missiles and warships, says the ministry.

Taiwan has been testing new, long-range missiles off its southern and eastern coasts, and although it has not given details, diplomats and experts have said they are likely to be able to hit targets farther into China.

The additional cash will likely be well received in Washington, which has been pushing Taiwan to modernise its military to make it more mobile so that it can become a porcupine hard for China to attack.

Taiwan has already put a new class of highly agile stealth warships, which Taiwan refers to as an aircraft carrier killer due to its missile complement, and is developing its own submarines.

The announcement comes as Taiwan is in the middle of its annual Han Kuang military drills, simulating fending off a Chinese attack. Chinese aircraft again buzzed Taiwan air defence zone on Wednesday, as they do almost daily.