Taiwan is hoping to buy billions of dollars' worth of arms from the U.S., reportedly to show the Trump administration that Taiwan is committed to its own defense.
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00:00The challenge of safeguarding contested waters.
00:03This video released by Taiwan's Ministry of National Defence
00:06showing the country's military facing up to increasing Chinese activity in the Taiwan Strait.
00:12China claims this waterway and the rest of Taiwan as part of its sovereign territory
00:17and is threatening to take it by force.
00:20To counter this threat, Taiwan is arming itself,
00:30mainly with weapons from its biggest international backer, the United States.
00:35And now, according to news agency Reuters,
00:37Taipei is planning a new US$10 billion purchase
00:41including coastal defence cruise missiles and mobile rocket launcher systems.
00:51But the Ministry of National Defence's annual military threat
00:55is a plan to regulate our military force.
00:59And for the purpose of military force,
01:01we will purchase, sell and manufacture in three ways
01:05in order to save money.
01:07So purchasing is not the only way.
01:09Despite promising to boost defence spending,
01:12Taiwan President Lai Ching-de is under pressure to do more.
01:16New US President Donald Trump has accused Taiwan
01:19of taking its support for granted.
01:21So he's, Lai is trying to show himself in Taiwan
01:26as serious about Taiwan's defence,
01:28about willing to help out US industry
01:31and what he's trying to avoid is this image that he is a free rider on the US
01:37and that the US is just, you know, giving Taiwan benefits without anything in return.
01:42Lai is also facing a hostile political situation at home.
01:47Opposition parties have the majority in his country's legislature
01:50and have cut his government's budget.
01:52Meaning he will have to persuade his political adversaries
01:55if he is to make good on his commitment to Taiwan's self-defence.
02:00Karma Hsu and Rick Lowat for Taiwan Plus.