The attacks on Iran are a clear warning to all countries living under the threat of missiles. Since the initial airstrikes, Iran has launched ballistic missiles at targets in Israel and at US military bases and embassies. Although Israel possesses a multilayered air defense system — including the Iron Dome — it has still failed to intercept every incoming missile. However, this high-density air defense network has enabled Israel to continue functioning as a nation amid sustained and concentrated attacks. Without it, Iranian airstrikes could have led to complete paralysis.
Air defense is a network combining early warning, radar, command and control, layered interception, anti-saturation capabilities and logistical support. It cannot be achieved through a one-time procurement, but calls for long-term, substantial and stable investment to maintain. Last year, the US began promoting its “Golden Dome” missile shield plan, reflecting that air defense has become a kind of national infrastructure.
In the face of China’s massive missile arsenal — which is extremely close geographically but lacks in strategic depth — any failure in air defense could mean that Taiwanese cities, energy infrastructure and transportation systems bear the brunt of the damage. Establishing a “T-Dome” multilayered defense system should be seen as a prerequisite for effective deterrence. Demonstrating that Taiwan cannot be quickly paralyzed would signal to the adversary that the cost of war would be prohibitively high.
The draft proposal put forward by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) to limit defense spending to just NT$350 billion (US$11 billion) — only approving items on the arms sales list — is clearly misguided. This approach treats national defense as a procurement project rather than an existential undertaking — willing to purchase equipment yet refusing to commit to the construction of a comprehensive air defense system. Insufficient air defense comes at a cost that is more than just numerical — it is cities being directly exposed to firepower in the first wave of attacks.
From a military standpoint, NT$350 billion might be enough to acquire certain equipment, but it is far from enough to sustain an air defense network capable of withstanding prolonged saturation strikes. Air defense operations are high-consumption and high-cost forms of warfare. If the government refuses to establish a complete defensive architecture in the name of budgetary restraint, the amount saved exists only on paper. The ultimate price would be power plants forced offline, hospitals damaged, transportation networks disrupted and the collapse of public confidence.
Rejecting a “T-Dome” concept is essentially a political statement accepting the reality that, in the opening phase of war, Taiwan’s cities would simply have to endure the impact of incoming missiles. When interceptor stocks are exhausted, systems prove insufficient and airspace is breached, NT$350 billion would not shield the sky for the public, nor would it suffice to absolve the responsibility that follows.
The explosions in the Middle East have demonstrated that air defense is a baseline condition for a nation’s survival. Any proposal that refuses comprehensive air defense and is willing to pass only fragmented arms sales lists cannot be described as rational oversight: it is a failure of responsibility to uphold territorial defense. The KMT’s draft budget proposal cannot protect the nation’s skies, nor can it sustain its security. This is ultimately a question of whether there is genuine resolve to defend this land.
Elliot Yao is a reviewer.
Translated by Kyra Gustavsen
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