In Taiwan, the government has proposed more than 19 billion dollars in defence spending for next year.<br />'' <br />''The overall proposed defence budget proposed by President Tsai Ing-wen's Cabinet sets a 13.9 per cent year-on-year increase to a record 19.41 billion dollars. It includes funds for new fighter jets, weeks after China staged large-scale war games around the island.<br />'' <br />''Statistics department minister Chu Tzer-ming said the increase in defence spending will mainly go to operational costs.<br />'' <br />''The planned defence spending, which is a record high and must be approved by parliament, marks the island's sixth consecutive year of growth in defence spending since 2017.<br />'' <br />''<span style="color: #222222;">China carried out its largest-ever military exercises around Taiwan after a visit by U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.</span><br />