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Taiwan began three days of military drills on Tuesday as concerns rose over potential cuts to the defence budget due to legislative wrangling between the island's two major political parties. The drills began in the north with tank maneuvering at a base in Hsinchu featuring outmoded CM-11 tanks, which are gradually being replaced by newly purchased Abrams M1A2T from the US. The replacement marks a huge upgrade despite some complaints over the weight of the new tanks and their likely effectiveness at preventing a possible Chinese landing. Troops arrived on armoured personnel carriers, while Apache and S-70 helicopters whirled overhead, providing reconnaissance and covering fire. With the equipment Taiwan currently operates, the communication officer is on the ground to coordinate airborne attacks, said Army Captain Chuang Yuan-cheng of the 542 Armored Brigade in Hsinchu county just south of the capital of Taipei. That allows them to guide the helicopters so that ground fire and ...
Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te pledged to strengthen the island's defences in the face of escalating Chinese threats, saying in a New Year's address on Wednesday that Taiwan was a crucial part of the line of defence of democracy globally. China claims Taiwan, a self-ruled democracy, is part of its territory and has vowed to annex the island by force if necessary. Authoritarian countries such as China, Russia, North Korea and Iran are still collaborating to threaten the international order that is based on rules. This has severely influenced the Indo-Pacific region and the world's peace and stability, Lai said in his address. Beijing has used a variety of tactics in recent years to increase pressure on Taiwan, from sending warships and fighter jets toward the island on a near-daily basis to pressuring Taiwan's diplomatic allies to switch their recognition to China. In response, Taiwan has been reforming its military and buying weapons from the United States, its biggest unofficial
The Japanese Cabinet on Friday approved a record 8.7 trillion yen ($55 billion) defence budget for 2025 as Japan accelerates building up its strike-back capability with long-range cruise missiles and starts deploying Tomahawks to fortify itself against growing threats from China, North Korea and Russia. The Cabinet-endorsed draft defence budget marks the third year of Japan's ongoing five-year military buildup under the national security strategy adopted in 2022. The defense spending is part of the more than 115 trillion yen ($730 billion) national budget bill also a record that requires parliamentary approval by March to be enacted. Japan is preparing to deploy US-made Tomahawks late in the fiscal year 2025 as part of its ongoing effort to acquire strike-back capability with long-range missiles that can hit distant targets. The budget allocates 940 billion yen ($6 billion) for the so-called standoff defence system that also includes long-range missiles, satellite constellation and
Japan's Defence Ministry Friday sought a record 8.5 trillion yen (USD 59 billion) budget for the next year to fortify its deterrence on southwestern islands against China's increasing threat, while focusing on unmanned weapons and AI to make up for the declining number of servicemembers as a result of the country's shrinking population. The ministry's request for 2025 marks the third year of Japan's rapid five-year military buildup plan under the government's ongoing security strategy. Japan aims to spend 43 trillion yen (USD 297 billion) through 2027 to double its annual military spending to around 10 trillion yen, making it the world's third-largest military spender after the United States and China. The budget request was approved at the Defence Ministry meeting Friday ahead of a submission to the Finance Ministry for negotiations through December. Japan has been rapidly building up the defense of the southwestern region in recent years amid China's growing military threats and
Pakistan on Wednesday announced a nearly 15 per cent hike in its defence spending and allocated Rs 2,122 billion in the 2024-25 budget, marking a significant increase from last year amidst strenuous efforts to secure a fresh loan from the IMF to meet the cash-strapped nation's external liabilities. Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb presented the budget in the National Assembly, the lower house of parliament, the first budget of the Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) (PML-N) and Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) coalition government which came to power after the February 8 general elections. Last year, the government allocated Rs 1,804 billion for defence, which was higher than the Rs 1,523 billion allocated the previous year. Aurangzeb said the government set a 3.6 per cent GDP growth target for the next year -- higher than the 3.5 per cent set for the outgoing year. The country however missed that target and could only achieve 2.38 per cent growth. He said the total volume of the budget