00:00Taiwan's President Lai Ching-te is urging lawmakers to approve a $40 billion special military budget,
00:07warning that delays could undermine the island's defence against China.
00:11Lai argues national defence should be an area of unity, not political division,
00:17as the opposition-controlled parliament continues to block the proposal.
00:22Defence Minister Wellington Kuh warned that failure to pass the budget
00:26risk creating a rupture in the Indo-Pacific's collective deterrence posture.
00:32He says Taiwan plays a critical role along the so-called first island chain,
00:36a strategic arc stretching from Japan through Taiwan to the Philippines.
00:41The main opposition party, the Kuomintang, says it supports defence spending
00:45but refuses to sign what it calls a blank cheque,
00:49arguing that weapon purchasers must be cost-effective and properly scrutinised.
00:54The spending package first proposed last year is aimed at strengthening Taiwan's capabilities against China,
01:01which claims the self-ruled island as its own and has not ruled out the use of force.
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