US pushes Taiwan to boost defense spending amid China threat

A bipartisan group of 37 US lawmakers urged Taiwan's parliament to approve a proposed multi-billion dollar defense spending package, warning that the threat from China "has never been greater." Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te had proposed a $40 billion (€33.72 billion) additional defense spending last year, but the proposal was stalled in the opposition-led parliament.

In the letter released on Thursday and addressed to parliamentary speaker Han Kuo-yu and party leaders, including the Kuomintang (KMT) and Taiwan People's Party (TPP), the US lawmakers said Beijing was intensifying pressure on the island and called for higher defense outlays in line with President Lai's proposal.

"The threat posed by the People's Republic of China against Taiwan has never been greater. [Chinese President] Xi Jinping is focusing every element of the PRC's national power to control Taiwan," the letter warned, calling for a significant increase in Taiwan's defense spending.

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