Taipei: Taiwan’s defense ministry has estimated that China spent nearly 21 billion dollars on military drills across the Western Pacific in 2024, marking a 40 percent increase from the previous year. The intensified operations underline Beijing’s growing assertiveness in the Taiwan Strait and wider Indo-Pacific region.

According to Taiwan’s annual defense report, Chinese forces carried out almost 12,000 aircraft sorties totaling 37,000 flight hours, alongside 86,000 naval sailings amounting to around 2 million hours at sea. The exercises were heavily concentrated in contested waters, with 34 percent in the South China Sea, 28 percent in the East China Sea, and 14 percent in the Taiwan Strait.

The estimated 21 billion dollar expenditure represented about 9 percent of China’s official defense budget in 2024, up from around 7 percent in 2023. By contrast, Taiwan noted that the costs of monitoring and responding to these activities consumed nearly a quarter of its own annual defense resources.

Amid rising military pressure, Taiwan’s President Lai Ching-te has pledged to raise defense spending to 5 percent of GDP by 2030, up from the current 3.32 percent. The island has also expanded its Han Kuang 2025 exercise, extending it to ten days and nine nights, with a strong focus on urban defense, cyber resilience, and unscripted wartime scenarios.

President Lai personally observed live-fire drills featuring newly acquired US-made Abrams M1A2T tanks, part of a modernization drive that also includes F-16V fighter jets, HIMARS rocket systems, and unmanned stealth platforms. The latest exercise mobilized 22,000 reservists and incorporated mock missile strikes, evacuation simulations, and civil defense training.

Analysts warn that Beijing’s sharp rise in operational spending highlights its intent to sustain high-tempo military pressure on Taiwan while projecting power across the South China Sea and into the broader Pacific. At the same time, Taipei’s stronger defense posture signals a determination to enhance deterrence against any potential aggression.

The widening gap between Chinese military activities and Taiwan’s defense spending is seen as a growing flashpoint for regional security, raising concerns among Indo-Pacific nations and their allies over the stability of sea lanes and the risk of escalation.