TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — Taiwan will accelerate the building of a “Taiwan Shield” or “T-Dome” air defense system in the face of the military threat from China , its leader said Friday.

President Lai Ching-te also pledged to raise defense spending to more than 3% of GDP and to reach 5% by 2030. GDP, or gross domestic product, is a measure of the size of the overall economy.

“The increase in defense spending has a purpose,” he said in an address to an outdoor crowd on Taiwan National Day. “It is a clear necessity to counter enemy threats and a driving force for developing our defense industries.”

Taiwan is a self-governing island off China’s east coast that the Chinese government claims as part of its territory and says must come under its rule .

The United States, while not recognizi

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