Taiwan's President: ”China aims for 'military unification' by 2027”... ”Defense spending to increase”

Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te, who is facing military pressure from China as well as requests from the United States to increase defense spending, has announced that he will begin increasing defense spending, including an additional defense budget.
In a speech after convening a high-level national security conference on the morning of the 26th, President Lai said, "The Beijing authorities are aiming to complete the 'armed unification of Taiwan' by 2027, and are accelerating military preparations for an invasion of Taiwan.
"They continue to conduct drills around the bay and infiltrate gray zones," he said. "In addition to military force, they are stepping up legal, psychological and public opinion warfare in an attempt to erase Taiwan's sovereignty from the face of the earth."
He continued, "Democratic Taiwan is a sovereign and independent nation, and our people and friends in the international community refer to our country as the Republic of China, Taiwan, or the Republic of China Taiwan."
"Countries will not be subjugated to one another, and Taiwan's sovereignty will not be violated or annexed. This is the status quo we are trying to protect," he said.
President Lai also announced that next year's defense budget should be set at more than 3% of GDP, in line with NATO standards.
The government reaffirmed its plan to raise the tax rate to 5% of GDP by 2030.