TAIPEI: Taiwan's government plans to increase its 2026 defence budget to more than 3 per cent of GDP, the premier said on Thursday (Aug 21), as it faces US pressure to invest more in its own protection. Taipei has ramped up investment in military equipment and weapons over the past decade in response to intensifying pressure from China, which claims the democratic island as part of its territory and has threatened to seize it by force. Premier Cho Jung-tai said the latest hike was "another