Geopolitical tensions between Taiwan and China have been simmering for decades as Beijing claims Taiwan is a part of the People’s Republic and refuses to accept the island as a sovereign state.
China has been increasingly assertive in its claims over Taiwan in recent years, regularly conducting military exercises and sending fighter jets into Taiwan’s airspace. These aggressive moves have resulted in an increased Taiwan’s defence budget as Taipei seeks to modernise its military and acquire more advanced weapons systems to counter the threat from China.
Taiwan has refused to give in to the pressure and is consistently working with its closest ally, the US, to enhance its military capabilities. The country’s increased defence budget has been growing steadily since 2019, with the government allocating $19.9bn to its defence expenditure, an increase from $11bn in 2019. The 2023 budget has rocketed to $19.3bn.
This defence budget increase had come amid a backdrop of consistent tensions with China, with one of the most explosive fractures of relations coming in August 2022, when the then US House Speaker, Nancy Pelosi, visited Taiwan in defiance of Beijing. In response, China launched its most significant and aggressive live-fire war drills in years in the waters and skies around Taiwan.
Taiwan targets all platforms, as China’s threat comes from all angles
The US has always claimed they would not allow China to take Taiwan, as shown by the US being the largest exporter of military supplies to Taiwan. This message was once read and understood by China, but fast forward over 20 years of military development, and a lot has changed in China, with the country’s People’s Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) consistently overflying Taiwan’s airspace without identifying their presence or filing a flight plan.