Taiwan has proposed increasing its defence budget by 15% next year.

The draft budget, which is yet to be approved by parliament, sets aside TWD345.9bn ($10.5bn), an increase of TWD44.6bn.

The extra money is expected to be spent on procuring military equipment, including US-made P-3C submarine-hunting aircraft.

The move is an apparent response to China’s military budget increase of 17.8%, announced earlier this year.