Beijing claims democratic Taiwan as part of its territory and has threatened to use force to bring the self-ruled island under control.

It regularly deploys fighter jets and warships around the island and has held several major military exercises since President Lai Ching-te took office in Taipei last year.

Lai announced the pay rises while visiting a military camp in the capital on Friday and vowed to "continue to take care of the hard-working officers and soldiers from all aspects".

From April 1, volunteer enlistees will get an additional monthly allowance of up to NT$5,000 ($151) on top of the current NT$10,000, while the allowance for members of combat forces will more than double to up to NT$12,000 a month.

"Let us protect the country together and ensure our daily life of freedom and democracy," Lai told military officials and Marines at the camp.

Raising salaries and benefits was not only a short-term measure to solve "manpower decline" but also a long-term "talent investment to bring stable talent and improve efficiency", the defence ministry said in a statement.

The aim was to "stabilise defence capabilities... and encourage volunteer service members to stay for a long time, while attracting young people to join the military", it said.

The pay rises followed recent media reports that the number of soldiers who opted out of their contracts early had almost quadrupled in recent years.

Last year, 1,565 voluntary military personnel left the service early and paid a financial penalty, compared with 401 in 2020.

The number of serving volunteer military personnel stood at 152,885 in June 2024, the lowest since 2018, according to the defence ministry.

Lai also urged opposition parties to show "the greatest support" to the military and rethink the impact of freezing and cutting the island's defence budget.

Taiwan's government was planning to increase defence spending to a record NT$647 billion in 2025, or around 2.5 percent of GDP.

However, some items were cut or frozen by the opposition-controlled parliament, including a 50 percent freeze on spending for a submarine programme and drone industry park.