TAIPEI: Taiwan President Lai Ching-te said on Friday (Aug 22) he hoped defence spending would reach 5 per cent of gross domestic product before 2030, upping a target of bolstering the island's military budget that Washington has pushed for. The previous day, the government said next year's defence budget would reach 3.32 per cent of GDP , including for the first time spending on the coast guard, among other areas, to align with what Premier Cho Jung-tai said was the "NATO model". The move comes