A prominent US China expert last week called on Taiwan to increase military spending to at least match the US as a percentage of GDP, saying that it would be “unrealistic” to reach 10 percent.
Oriana Skylar Mastro, a fellow at Stanford University's Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies, made the remarks during a US Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on Wednesday last week titled “Shared Threats: Indo-Pacific Alliances and Burden Sharing in Today’s Geopolitical Environment.”
Mastro called Taiwan a unique situation compared with other US allies and partners in the Asia-Pacific region, as it is the only one facing the acute threat of war with China.
Photo: AFP
“If Taiwan expects the US to help in a conflict, thereby risking major war with China, Taiwan does need to contribute more to deterring the war, and prevailing if that proves necessary,” she said.
The imbalance of power between Taiwan and China means that the former’s ability to “hold off” long enough for US forces to arrive is “the heart of deterrence,” Mastro said.
"Taipei will never be able to defend itself completely without US assistance," she added.
The strategy should be for Taiwan to withstand 30 days of an invasion while US forces arrive in the region, but the US should also take steps to convince Beijing that quick military action has no way of succeeding, she said.
"There is no scenario in which Taiwan wins a war against China without direct US military intervention," she added.
Within the next three to four years, the Chinese People’s Liberation Army is to tell Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) it is able to take Taiwan by force, Mastro said.
While Taiwan spending 10 percent of its GDP on military spending is likely unrealistic, especially given total government spending only stands at 13.7 percent, it must still increase military funding, she said.
“As a symbolic gesture, Taiwan should spend at least the same amount as the United States on defense — currently 3.4 percent of GDP,” Mastro said.
The money that Taiwan does spend on defense should go to buying “the right weapons,” focused on asymmetric warfare instead of traditional high-cost platforms such as submarines and F-35 jets, she said.
“Taiwan should persist in acquiring large quantities of anti-air, anti-armor and anti-ship missiles, weapons that provide more value in Taiwan’s defense scenario,” she said.
There is a “political need for Taipei to show seriousness about its defense if American lives are going to be sacrificed for its defense,” Mastro added.
Additional reporting by CNA
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is maintaining close ties with Beijing, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said yesterday, hours after a new round of Chinese military drills in the Taiwan Strait began. Political parties in a democracy have a responsibility to be loyal to the nation and defend its sovereignty, DPP spokesman Justin Wu (吳崢) told a news conference in Taipei. His comments came hours after Beijing announced via Chinese state media that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater Command was holding large-scale drills simulating a multi-pronged attack on Taiwan. Contrary to the KMT’s claims that it is staunchly anti-communist, KMT Deputy
RESPONSE: The government would investigate incidents of Taiwanese entertainers in China promoting CCP propaganda online in contravention of the law, the source said Taiwanese entertainers living in China who are found to have contravened cross-strait regulations or collaborated with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) could be subject to fines, a source said on Sunday. Several Taiwanese entertainers have posted on the social media platform Sina Weibo saying that Taiwan “must be returned” to China, and sharing news articles from Chinese state media. In response, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) has asked the Ministry of Culture to investigate whether the entertainers had contravened any laws, and asked for them to be questioned upon their return to Taiwan, an official familiar with the matter said. To curb repeated
Myanmar has turned down an offer of assistance from Taiwanese search-and-rescue teams after a magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck the nation on Friday last week, saying other international aid is sufficient, the National Fire Agency said yesterday. More than 1,700 have been killed and 3,400 injured in the quake that struck near the central Myanmar city of Mandalay early on Friday afternoon, followed minutes later by a magnitude 6.7 aftershock. Worldwide, 13 international search-and-rescue teams have been deployed, with another 13 teams mobilizing, the agency said. Taiwan’s search-and-rescue teams were on standby, but have since been told to stand down, as
RSS