00:00Taiwan's government will propose record defense spending for 2027,
00:05exceeding one trillion Taiwan dollars, or around 31 billion U.S. dollars, for the first time.
00:10President Lai Ching-de described the proposed military budget as an investment in peace,
00:17as Taiwan faces growing military pressure from China.
00:22Taiwan's cabinet will unveil the full budget on Thursday,
00:26with defense spending expected to exceed 3 percent of GDP.
00:30Lai's announcement comes as China, which claims Taiwan as its territory,
00:35ramps up military and political pressure on the island.
00:39Taiwan is also heeding calls from Washington to take greater responsibility for its own defense.
00:45The government has vowed to raise defense spending to 5 percent of GDP by 2030.
00:51However, the push will likely face resistance from Taiwan's opposition-dominated parliament,
00:57which in May approved a 25 billion U.S. dollar special defense budget,
01:02a third less than the amount sought by Lai's Democratic Progressive Party.
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