--- title: "Taiwan’s Lai Says Record Defense Budget Is Meant to ‘Deter War’" description: "Beijing said the National Day speech “reveals ulterior motives” as Chinese aircraft and ships kept up patrols around the island." author: "rews desk" published: 2026-10-10T05:08:49Z modified: 2026-10-10T11:38:18Z url: https://rews.cc/a/taiwan-s-lai-says-record-defense-budget-is-meant-to-deter-wa-8ed446 language: en tags: ["taiwan", "china", "trump", "military", "defense", "world", "asia"] publisher: "Rews (https://rews.cc)" --- # Taiwan’s Lai Says Record Defense Budget Is Meant to ‘Deter War’ *Beijing said the National Day speech “reveals ulterior motives” as Chinese aircraft and ships kept up patrols around the island.* By rews desk · October 10, 2026 · https://rews.cc/a/taiwan-s-lai-says-record-defense-budget-is-meant-to-deter-wa-8ed446 ## In brief - Taiwan’s President Lai Ching-te said on Oct. 10 that higher defense spending is meant to deter war, not provoke - Taiwan has budgeted a record NT$1.1 trillion ($34.5 billion) for defense in 2027, more than 3% of GDP - China’s Taiwan Affairs Office said the speech “reveals ulterior motives” and repeated that Taiwan is part of China - Taiwan reported 21 Chinese military aircraft and seven ships near the island in the 24 hours to 6 a.m. Saturday - Taiwan is waiting for President Trump to approve about $14 billion in weapons, including Patriot air defenses President William Lai Ching-te of Taiwan said on Saturday that his government’s record increase in military spending was meant to “deter war,” and used a National Day speech in Taipei to say the island would not “accept subordination” to China. His government has set aside NT$1.1 trillion, or $34.5 billion, for defense in 2027, more than 3 percent of gross domestic product, [Al Jazeera reported](https://aljazeera.com/news/2026/10/10/taiwan-president-says-defence-spending-boost-aims-to-deter-war). Mr. Lai spoke outside the Presidential Office to a crowd of thousands that included diplomats and foreign guests. Before he began, fighter jets and two Chinook helicopters carrying giant Taiwanese flags flew over the city. “Our aim by increasing investment in national defense is not to provoke, rather, it is to deter war,” he said. “Taiwan cherishes peace, but we will not give up our freedom. We are open to exchanges, but will not accept subordination.” Beijing answered the same day. Zhang Han, a spokeswoman for China’s Taiwan Affairs Office, said the speech “disregards facts, distorts the truth, misleads the public, and reveals ulterior motives.” The office accused Mr. Lai of clinging to “Taiwan independence” separatist thinking and of exaggerating the threat from the mainland, according to [a statement carried by the state-run Global Times](https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202610/1371945.shtml). “There is only one China in the world, and Taiwan is part of China,” the office said. Taiwan’s future, it said, “can and must be decided jointly by all the Chinese people, including our compatriots in Taiwan.” China claims the island of 23 million people, has never ruled out taking it by force and calls Mr. Lai a separatist. It has turned down his offers of talks. In the 24 hours to 6 a.m. Saturday, Taiwan’s Defense Ministry reported 21 Chinese military aircraft and seven navy ships around the island. Thirteen of the planes crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait and entered Taiwan’s air defense identification zone. Mr. Lai said China was using military and gray-zone pressure, tactics that stop short of open war, to try to change the status quo in the strait. “Peace cannot rely solely on wishes, and tolerance cannot become a pretext for aggressors to encroach ever further,” he said. He also called on democracies in the Indo-Pacific to work together to keep the region stable, [The Associated Press reported](https://www.ksat.com/news/world/2026/10/10/taiwans-lai-calls-on-indo-pacific-democracies-to-help-maintain-peace-in-national-day-speech/). The speech came weeks after a summit in Washington at which [Xi Jinping asked President Trump to oppose Taiwan independence](https://rews.cc/a/xi-presses-trump-to-oppose-taiwan-independence-as-leaders-ex-fad16e). Mr. Lai said he welcomed efforts by the United States and China to manage their rivalry through dialogue and lower the risk of war, but said “there must be respect for the right of the people of Taiwan to exist.” A senior Trump administration official welcomed Mr. Lai’s commitment to peace in the strait and, referring to China, said “a routine speech is no justification for aggressive or coercive actions,” [Reuters reported](https://theprint.in/world/taiwan-wont-give-up-freedom-lai-says-beijing-slams-ulterior-motives/3067734/). Mr. Lai also left out a line he has used before, that neither side of the strait is subordinate to the other. Instead he said Taiwan must become a “city upon a hill,” built with courage and confidence. Tao Yi-feng, a political scientist at National Taiwan University, called the speech “relatively moderate” and said it was unlikely to draw an “overt reaction from Beijing,” according to Reuters. That has not always held. China staged war games soon after Mr. Lai’s first National Day speech in 2024, though not after the one in 2025. Its most recent drills near Taiwan came in late December, after the United States announced an $11 billion arms package, the largest ever for the island. The guests on Saturday included King Mswati III of Eswatini, Taiwan’s only diplomatic ally in Africa, Lt. Gov. Micah Beckwith of Indiana and a delegation of Japanese lawmakers. The holiday marks 115 years since the 1911 uprising that brought down China’s last imperial dynasty and led to the founding of the Republic of China, still Taiwan’s formal name. Washington switched diplomatic recognition from Taipei to Beijing almost 50 years ago but is still Taiwan’s most important security backer. In May, after meeting Mr. Xi in Beijing, Mr. Trump suggested that arms sales to Taiwan could be a bargaining chip with China. Taiwan is still waiting for him to approve about $14 billion in weapons, including the Patriot air defense system.