Taiwan can’t afford to hike its defence budget to more than three percent of GDP, the new leader of the democratic island’s biggest opposition party told AFP, which could derail the government’s spending plans. The Kuomintang party (KMT) controls parliament — and the government’s purse strings — with the help of the Taiwan People’s Party,…
By Yimou Lee and Ben Blanchard TAIPEI (Reuters) -China spent $21 billion on military exercises in the Taiwan Strait, the East and South China Sea and the Western Pacific last year, nearly 40% higher than 2023, according to Taiwan government estimates based on its tracking of aircraft and ships and working out the cost of…
By Yimou Lee and Ben Blanchard TAIPEI (Reuters) -China spent $21 billion on military exercises in the Taiwan Strait, the East and South China Sea and the Western Pacific last year, nearly 40% higher than 2023, according to Taiwan government estimates based on its tracking of aircraft and ships and working out the cost of…
By Gleb Bryanski and Vladimir Soldatkin MOSCOW (Reuters) -President Vladimir Putin said on Friday that Russia was looking to cut its military expenditure from next year, contrasting that with NATO’s plan to ramp up defence spending over the next decade. NATO allies on Wednesday agreed to raise their collective spending goal to 5% of gross…
Spain is opposing NATO’s plans to increase defence spending to 5% of gross domestic product (GDP), public broadcaster RTVE reported on Thursday. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez informed NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte of his country’s opposition to the new target in a letter, according to reports from RTVE and other media outlets that have…
The Western military alliance will hold a crucial summit in The Hague next week to discuss increasing defence spending to five percent of GDP, under pressure from US President Donald Trump read more Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that his country can defend itself in the face of a threat to its security after…