Taiwan eyes raising defense budget to over 3% of GDP

News Snapshot:

TAIPEI — Taiwan’s government plans to increase its 2026 defense budget to more than 3 percent of gross domestic product (GDP), the island’s premier said on Thursday, as it faces United States pressure to invest more in its own protection. TAKING AIM A Taiwanese soldier is aboard a United States-made M1A2T tank during a live-fire drill that coincides with the island’s annual Han Kuang military exercises, in Hsinchu County, northwestern Taiwan, on July 10, 2025. EPA FILE PHOTO Taipei has ramped up investment in military equipment and weapons over the past decade in response to intensifying pressure from China, which...