Lai unveiled his “T-Dome” plan during a Double Tenth Day address marking the 114th anniversary of the founding of the Republic of China – Taiwan’s official title.
He described it as a “multilayered air defence network” to protect critical infrastructure and population centres from potential missile and drone attacks by Beijing.
Apparently borrowing from Israel’s Iron Dome and America’s proposed “Golden Dome” anti-missile systems, but offering few technical details, Lai pledged to speed up the T-Dome’s development with bigger defence spending and advanced technologies including artificial intelligence (AI).
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Taiwan kicks off its largest and longest-ever annual military exercise
Taiwan kicks off its largest and longest-ever annual military exercise
The announcement caught Taiwan’s defence establishment by surprise. The Taiwanese defence ministry’s latest National Defence Report, released just a day before Lai’s speech on October 10, made no mention of a T-Dome. Next year’s government budget also includes no allocation for such a project.
