The Taiwanese government announced on Thursday it proposed to bolster its defense spendings by $8.69 billion ($240 billion Taiwan dollars) over the next five years, citing an urgent need to improve military equipment in the face of “severe threats” coming from the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen, reelected by a landslide last year on a pledge to stand up to the CCP, has made modernizing Taiwan’s mainly U.S.-equipped military a priority, turning it into a “porcupine,” both highly mobile and hard to attack. Deputy Defence Minister Wang Shin-lung told reporters the new arms would all be made domestically and will include cruise missiles and warships. “In the face of severe threats from the enemy, the nation’s military is actively engaged in military building and preparation work, and it is urgent to obtain mature and rapid mass production weapons and equipment in a short period of time,” Taiwan’s Defence Ministry …