{Editor’s Note: Beijing has continued to pressure, infiltrate, and coerce Taiwan, asserting that the island is part of China under Chinese Communist Party rule. In response to these escalating actions, President Lai Ching-te of Taiwan (the Republic of China) announced the “National Security Action Plan to Safeguard the Democratic Taiwan” at a press conference on November 26, 2025.
The following are excerpts from President Lai’s remarks, in which he outlined the concrete measures and policy initiatives included in the action plan. {1}}
As the international community has observed, China’s threats toward Taiwan and the Indo-Pacific region are intensifying.
Beyond this, Beijing has set 2027 as a target year to complete preparations for the “military unification of Taiwan,” accelerating military buildup and continually increasing exercises and gray-zone coercion around Taiwan. These actions seek to “force unification through force” and “coerce surrender through force,” with the aim of annexing Taiwan.
In addition to military pressure, China is escalating legal warfare, psychological warfare, and public opinion warfare, attempting to erase Taiwan’s sovereignty internationally. Through so-called “anti-independence, pro-unification” efforts and transnational repression, Beijing seeks to hollow out the governing authority of the Republic of China (Taiwan) and create the illusion of substantive “governance” over Taiwan.
Domestically, China is intensifying united front infiltration and societal division, confusing national identity and undermining internal cohesion in order to impose its proposed “one country, two systems Taiwan model” and a system of “patriots governing Taiwan.”
All of these actions aim to confine the free, prosperous, and globally respected “Democratic Taiwan” within an authoritarian “China’s Taiwan,” fulfilling Beijing’s ambition to annex Taiwan and dominate the Indo-Pacific region.
Facing this unprecedentedly severe situation, the national security team has formulated an action plan with two major parts to comprehensively respond to urgent security threats and resolutely safeguard the democratic Taiwan.
Action Plan Part One: Firmly Uphold National Sovereignty and Build a Comprehensive Democratic Defense Mechanism
I reaffirm that the “Democratic Taiwan” is a sovereign and independent country. Our nation is referred to by our people and international friends as the “Republic of China (ROC),” “Taiwan,” or the “Republic of China (Taiwan).” The Republic of China and the People’s Republic of China are not subordinate to each other. Taiwan’s sovereignty cannot be violated or annexed, and the future of the Republic of China (Taiwan) can only be decided by its 23 million people. This is the status quo we are determined to defend.
To safeguard sovereignty and build a strong democratic defense mechanism, our actions will include:
1. Establishing a permanent inter-agency task force centered on the framework of “Democratic Taiwan vs. China’s Taiwan,” taking actions that combine international and domestic strategic communication, historical narratives, and counter–legal warfare measures. Working with society as a whole and with allied countries, we will demonstrate to the world our resolve to protect the democratic Taiwan and firmly defend the status quo, countering Beijing’s hegemonic efforts to erase ROC sovereignty and deprive the Taiwanese people of their freedoms.
2. Upholding facts and truth as the foundation of social trust and national identity in a democracy. The Executive Yuan will assess China’s interference and its potential impact during major policy initiatives and elections, ensuring the full circulation of accurate information to raise awareness of Beijing’s interference and coercive unification agenda, strengthen national identity, and unite society.
3. Continuing implementation of the 17 strategies launched in March to counter China’s united front infiltration and national security threats, while accelerating legislation of the ten national security laws and related administrative measures.
4. Addressing China’s transnational repression against Taiwanese citizens by establishing victim reporting, contact, and protection mechanisms; strengthening cooperation with allied countries and international organizations; and imposing severe penalties on local collaborators who assist China in harming Taiwan’s national interests and citizens.
5. Given that polls consistently show overwhelming public opposition to China’s “one country, two systems Taiwan model,” the government, legislature, political parties, and civil society will jointly establish this model as an inviolable red line. On this basis, institutional rules will be created to govern cross-strait exchanges and political dialogue, ensuring transparency and democratic governance while preventing China from exploiting internal divisions to advance coercive unification.
Action Plan Part Two: Strengthen Defense Capabilities and Build a Comprehensive Defense-Related Industrial Base
As China continues to escalate military threats and hegemonic ambitions, Indo-Pacific democracies such as Japan, South Korea, the Philippines, and Australia are forming a consensus around island-chain defense and burden sharing, increasing defense investment to counter these challenges.
As the most critical link in the first island chain, Taiwan must not become a security gap. We must shoulder greater responsibility for self-defense, strengthening defense capabilities through autonomous defense and joint deterrence, guided by three strategies: denial, resilience, and intelligence-based capabilities.
Our phased objectives are:
- Achieving high readiness of joint combat forces by 2027 to effectively deter China.
- Building a highly resilient, comprehensive deterrent defense posture by 2033.
- Ultimately establishing enduring defense capabilities to permanently safeguard the democratic Taiwan.
Concrete measures include:
1. Gradually increasing defense spending in line with global trends. Next year’s defense budget will exceed 3 percent of GDP, following NATO standards, and will reach 5 percent of GDP by 2030.
2. Investing NT$1.25 trillion (US $40 billion) over eight years (2026–2033) under a special defense procurement act to strengthen defense resilience and asymmetric capabilities, including advanced air and missile defense systems, AI-enabled decision-making and precision strike capabilities, and expanded defense industrial autonomy.
3. Ensuring proper legislative review, financial planning, and fiscal discipline to avoid crowding out other public spending.
4. Optimizing procurement mechanisms to accelerate force modernization while preventing corruption and delays.
5. Advancing comprehensive reforms in force structure, training, tactics, and logistics alongside new equipment acquisition.
Increasing defense spending is not only essential for strengthening military capabilities and national security, but also a key means of expanding the defense industry and raising national income. In addition to overseas procurement, a significant portion of this special budget will be invested in domestic construction projects, commercial purchases, and commissioned manufacturing, generating substantial economic output and employment opportunities.
Leveraging Taiwan’s strong advantages in high technology and manufacturing—including its integrated ecosystem spanning semiconductors, ICT, and AI, as well as precision machinery and related foundational industries—Taiwan can play an important role in the global advanced defense and military-industrial sector. This will further drive industrial transformation and economic upgrading at home, enable more engineers and technology professionals to participate in strengthening national defense, and ultimately achieve the goal of a strong nation and shared prosperity.
6. Developing defense and military-industrial sectors and upgrading Taiwan’s overall industrial and economic capabilities.
7. Strengthening protection of high-tech industries and building non–“red supply chains” with allied partners.
8. Enhancing public communication to build consensus around the principle that investing in defense is investing in peace and Taiwan’s economic future. Through these efforts, we will unite national strength and prosperity while securing Taiwan’s freedom, democracy, and long-term security.
Endnote:
{1} Taiwan President Official Site, “The President Delivers a Speech at the Press Conference for the ‘National Security Action Plan to Safeguard the Democratic Taiwan,’” November 26, 2025.
https://www.president.gov.tw/News/39650.