Taiwanese president Lai Ching-te said on Tuesday that peace depends on Taiwan’s own strength and urged lawmakers to support the government’s special defense budget currently stalled in the nation’s legislature.

“Maintaining peace is a shared expectation of the nation’s people, but the peace we want does not rely on a single agreement, but on our own strength, and only by strengthening self-defense capabilities can we achieve true peace," Lai wrote in a Facebook post marking 14-day-long computer-simulated defense exercises.

“As commander-in-chief of the armed forces, the government I lead has the duty and great responsibility to advance the special defense budget and support the Armed Forces,” he said.

“I also hope the Legislative Yuan, regardless of party affiliation, will support the government’s full plan, ensure the special defense budget is not reduced, and allow it to pass as soon as possible,” he added.

Taiwan’s president was referring to the US$40 billion special defense budget that his Democratic Progressive Party (DPP)-led government proposed in November last year to bolster Taiwan’s defenses in the face of the growing military threat from China.

The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Taiwan People’s Party (TPP), which together hold a majority in Taiwan’s legislature, have stalled the special budget, and instead have proposed significantly smaller special defense allocations.

Last week, KMT lawmakers skipped a cross-party meeting set to discuss the government-proposed defense budget.