Taipei, Nov. 26 -- Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te has announced plans to propose a supplementary defence budget of USD 40 billion.

In an op-ed in the Washington Post, Lai said Taiwan is committed to maintaining peace in the Indo-Pacific region despite frequent Chinese military incursions into its vicinity and drills breaching the first island chain that extends from Japan to Borneo.

He said, China's rapid military buildup and "provocations in the Taiwan Strait, East and South China Seas and across the Indo-Pacific, have highlighted the fragility of peace in the region."

Taiwan's President has announced a special USD 40 billion budget for arms purchases, including building a Taiwan Dome, an air defence system with high-level detection...