Taiwan will prepare itself for combat within the next two years amid "intensifying" threats from China, the nation's president has declared.

Lai Ching-te held a news conference on Wednesday morning amid a ramping up of military and political pressure by Beijing, which views the democratically-governed island as its own territory.

Speaking after announcing plans to boost defence spending with a "special" $40bn (£30.6bn) budget, Mr Lai said Xi Jinping's regime was "speeding up military preparations to take Taiwan by force".

Image: Taiwan's first battalion of M1A2T Abrams tanks and (below) sea mines being loaded at a military base. Pics: Reuters

It comes after Mr Xi used a phone call with Donald Trump to describe Taiwan's return to mainland China as "an integral part of the post-w

See Full Page