Taiwan's defence ministry plans to seek up to a record $33 billion in special funding to upgrade the island's defences against a potential Chinese attack, a senior lawmaker told AFP.

As Beijing ramps up military pressure on the democratic island, Taiwan in recent years has responded by boosting its defence spending.

But Washington, Taipei's biggest arms supplier, has been pushing it to do more.

The ministry is working on a special budget of between NT$800 billion and NT$1 trillion ($26 billion and $33 billion) over seven years, said Wang Ting-yu, who belongs to President Lai Ching-te's Democratic Progressive Party.

The final amount has not been finalised as Taiwan negotiates with the United States over potential arms sales that would be included in the special budget, Wang told AFP in

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