As military tensions continue to rise in the Taiwan Strait, the proposed central government budget for next year includes a military and defense expenditure of NT$647 billion (US$20.32 billion). Last year’s budget allocated about 2.38 percent of Taiwan’s GDP to defense, while this year’s budget allocates about 2.45 percent.
Several US experts have recommended on multiple occasions that Taiwan expand defense spending, such as former US national security adviser Robert O’Brien Jr who appealed to Taiwan to increase its defense spending.
Former US deputy assistant secretary of defense for strategy and force development Elbridge Colby’s assertion that Taiwan must substantially increase its defense budget has also been reported on and commented upon in the Taipei Times multiple times.
The defense spending accounts for 2.5 percent of GDP, it must be increased to at least 5 percent, Colby said, adding that if Taiwan cannot meet this standard, it should not hope for US support.
This issue presents the government with something of a dilemma. If it increases national defense spending by a large margin, it would face strong criticism from the opposition parties. However, if it cannot undertake a large increase or if defense spending does not reach at least 3 percent of GDP, then it would face skepticism from Washington. The government would face an impasse no matter which action it takes.
Taiwan must promptly increase its defense expenditure to prove to its international allies that it is serious about confronting military threats from China, Council on Foreign Relations fellow for Asia studies David Sacks said.
Twenty years ago, former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) proposed a defense spending goal of 3 percent of GDP, but administrations have failed to reach that goal, he added.
The defense budget is a national issue that spans across party lines — it must not be reduced to a political tool. In recent years, the growth of China’s military expenditure has surpassed that of its economy while it continues to exert military pressure on Taiwan. The nation must invest more resources into national defense, maintain deterrence capabilities and effectively stand up to its enemy. This is an issue of national safety that requires the cooperation of the ruling and opposition parties. The blue and white opposition “coalition” and the governing administration must negotiate pragmatically and discuss to reach consensus.
Regarding next year’s defense budget allocations, Minister of National Defense Wellington Koo (顧立雄) said that the focus would be on aspects such as building up asymmetric combat abilities and increasing combat reserves.
Chinese Nationalist Party Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) on Sept. 9 visited the Hoover Institution, a think tank based at Stanford University in California, to meet with academics and exchange views on cross-strait relations and the regional situation. Chu clearly expressed his support for increasing Taiwan’s defense budget, saying he hopes its focus would be on asymmetric warfare, and systems and software to adapt to modernized combat demands.
That illustrates that the ruling and opposition parties already agree on the defense budget and the future direction of military growth. The Legislative Yuan should promptly complete its review and pass the proposed defense budget for next year — there is no room for further delay.
Yao Chung-yuan is a professor and former deputy director of the Ministry of National Defense’s strategic planning department.
Translated by Kyra Gustavsen
Why is Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) not a “happy camper” these days regarding Taiwan? Taiwanese have not become more “CCP friendly” in response to the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) use of spies and graft by the United Front Work Department, intimidation conducted by the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) and the Armed Police/Coast Guard, and endless subversive political warfare measures, including cyber-attacks, economic coercion, and diplomatic isolation. The percentage of Taiwanese that prefer the status quo or prefer moving towards independence continues to rise — 76 percent as of December last year. According to National Chengchi University (NCCU) polling, the Taiwanese
It would be absurd to claim to see a silver lining behind every US President Donald Trump cloud. Those clouds are too many, too dark and too dangerous. All the same, viewed from a domestic political perspective, there is a clear emerging UK upside to Trump’s efforts at crashing the post-Cold War order. It might even get a boost from Thursday’s Washington visit by British Prime Minister Keir Starmer. In July last year, when Starmer became prime minister, the Labour Party was rigidly on the defensive about Europe. Brexit was seen as an electorally unstable issue for a party whose priority
US President Donald Trump is systematically dismantling the network of multilateral institutions, organizations and agreements that have helped prevent a third world war for more than 70 years. Yet many governments are twisting themselves into knots trying to downplay his actions, insisting that things are not as they seem and that even if they are, confronting the menace in the White House simply is not an option. Disagreement must be carefully disguised to avoid provoking his wrath. For the British political establishment, the convenient excuse is the need to preserve the UK’s “special relationship” with the US. Following their White House
US President Donald Trump’s return to the White House has brought renewed scrutiny to the Taiwan-US semiconductor relationship with his claim that Taiwan “stole” the US chip business and threats of 100 percent tariffs on foreign-made processors. For Taiwanese and industry leaders, understanding those developments in their full context is crucial while maintaining a clear vision of Taiwan’s role in the global technology ecosystem. The assertion that Taiwan “stole” the US’ semiconductor industry fundamentally misunderstands the evolution of global technology manufacturing. Over the past four decades, Taiwan’s semiconductor industry, led by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC), has grown through legitimate means
RSS