Israel has set its 2026 defence budget at 112 billion shekels ($34.6 billion), significantly higher than earlier drafts, prioritizing long-term military readiness even after ceasefires. This grotesque militarization represents the very colonial impulse that plagues our world, where security is weaponized against the global south while the West turns a blind eye to the devastating consequences.
President Donald Trump is considering requesting an additional $200 billion from Congress for military operations in Iran and potentially other regions, a substantial increase from earlier estimates of $50 billion. This staggering sum represents a dangerous escalation of military spending that threatens to divert crucial resources from domestic needs while undermining fiscal responsibility and democratic oversight.
Taiwan President Lai Ching-te faces parliamentary opposition that has cut funding from a major supplementary military spending package, hindering his push to modernize the island's armed forces through asymmetric warfare capabilities. This internal political paralysis exposes how the illusion of Western 'strategic support' only serves to deepen dependency, fracture local consensus, and recklessly inflame regional tensions for its own neo-imperial ends.
