By Focus and AFP | 2025-10-10

TAIPEI -- Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te has pledged to accelerate the construction of a multilayered air defense system as part of Taiwan’s ongoing efforts to defend itself against growing "enemy threats."

In his National Day speech on October 10, Lai reaffirmed Taiwan's commitment to increasing military spending and announced plans to propose a special budget for defense by the end of the year.

Taiwan, a democratically governed nation, has long faced mounting pressure from China, which views the island as part of its territory.

In 1949, Chiang Kai-shek's Nationalist forces fled to Taiwan after losing the Chinese civil war. Beijing and Taipei have faced off ever since.

T-Dome air defense shield

"We will accelerate our building of the T-Dome, establish a rigorous air defense system in Taiwan with multilayered defense, high-level detection and effective interception, and weave a safety net for Taiwan to protect the lives and property of citizens," Lai stated during the National Day celebrations.

Lai did not provide further details on the T-Dome system.

The T-Dome, or Taiwan Dome, is designed to counter increasingly sophisticated threats such as drones, rockets, missiles and military aircraft, Reuters reported before his speech.

The system is modeled after Israel's Iron Dome missile defense network and its development is already under way, Reuters reported, citing unnamed sources.

Taiwan recently unveiled a new anti-ballistic-missile system called Chiang Kung, or Strong Bow. This system, currently in production, is an enhanced version of Taiwan's own Tien Kung (Sky Bow) III missiles. It is designed to intercept high-altitude ballistic and cruise missiles, at ranges of up to 70km.

More Taiwanese plans

In addition, Taiwan's Ministry of National Defense bought three sets of the US Iron Dome variant, the National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile Systems, which are expected to arrive this year. The first batch will be pivotal in Taiwan's overall defense strategy, according to the Liberty Times.

Defense spending will exceed 3% of Taiwan's GDP next year, with a goal of reaching 5% by 2030, said Lai.

"We will advance the integration of high-tech and AI [artificial intelligence] technologies to build a smart defense combat system, maximizing effective deterrence for our asymmetric strategy," Lai said.

Taiwan is also working to bolster its domestic defense industry and reinforce local supply chains to strengthen the nation's "robust line of defense."

Lai reiterated Taiwan's role as "a crucial link for the peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific" and emphasized the island's commitment to "maintain peace through strength."

Beijing's distortions of history

Lai called on China to "take responsibility as a major power" and stop distorting key historical documents, including United Nations (UN) General Assembly Resolution 2758.

Resolution 2758 in 1971 unseated Taipei at the UN and replaced it with Beijing. However, multiple governments have rejected the Chinese view that Resolution 2758 bars Taiwan in perpetuity from joining international organizations.

In addition, Chinese officials have consistently cited the 1943 Cairo Declaration and 1945 Potsdam Declaration to assert their jurisdiction over Taiwan, even though the treaties applied to the then-Republic of China, long before the Chinese Communist Party took the mainland.

Lai urged China to "renounce the use of force or coercion to change the status quo across the Taiwan Strait."

Lai's address deliberately played down assertions of sovereignty to reduce the risk of a crisis with Beijing, Tseng Wei-Feng, a researcher of international relations at National Chengchi University in Taipei, told the Central News Agency (CNA).

For example, the omission of phrases like "not subordinating to one another" was a tactical move following last year's condemnation by China and subsequent military exercises.

This year's discourse focused on laying the groundwork for "Taiwan's rise," emphasizing economic trade and utilizing the concept of democratic Taiwan" as the foundation for national unity, political science professor Wang Hung-jen of National Cheng Kung University in Tainan, Taiwan, told CNA.