Taiwan’s fall to China “would be a disaster for American interests” and Taipei must raise defense spending to deter Beijing, US President Donald Trump’s pick to lead Pentagon policy, Elbridge Colby, said on Tuesday during his US Senate confirmation hearing.
The nominee for US undersecretary of defense for policy told the Armed Services Committee that Washington needs to motivate Taiwan to avoid a conflict with China and that he is “profoundly disturbed” about its perceived reluctance to raise defense spending closer to 10 percent of GDP.
Colby, a China hawk who also served in the Pentagon in Trump’s first team, wrote in response to committee questions that “the military balance has deteriorated dramatically from Taiwan’s perspective,” so it “should be dramatically increasing its defense capabilities focused on denying an invasion and riding out a blockade.”
Photo: Bloomberg
“Taiwan, however, is not doing nearly enough of this,” he wrote.
Colby said that Taiwan had an “alarming lack of urgency” in strengthening its defense capabilities in an op-ed for the Taipei Times last year.
Trump, who has accused Taiwan of “stealing” the US semiconductor industry and questioned US commitment to its security, last year suggested that Taipei spend about 10 percent of GDP on its armed forces.
President William Lai (賴清德) last month pledged to boost military spending to 3 percent of GDP, from 2.45 percent this year, aimed at showing Trump its commitment to defending itself.
However, yesterday’s meeting raised concerns over the Legislative Yuan’s cuts and freezes to the defense budget this year, led by the opposition Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), which US Senator Dan Sullivan described as “playing a dangerous game.”
The budget cuts had already become a point of discussion for Democrats and Republicans, Colby said.
US Senator Angus King also questioned Colby on his faith in Taiwan’s commitment to its own defense amid the cuts, stating concerns of sending US troops to defend a nation that does not seem “too concerned about its own defense capabilities.”
Colby said he would continue bilateral communication and policy advisories, urging Taiwan to step up its military strength to match that of South Korea, which he believes is not only feasible, but fair to the US people and troops who have invested heavily in its defense.
Colby yesterday reiterated his views that the US’ goal should be “denying China regional hegemony,” and that US military power must be focused overwhelmingly on countering China.
If confirmed, Colby said he would provide the US president and the secretary of defense “with the best military options to back up the policy of deterring and, if necessary, denying an attack on Taiwan at a reasonable level of cost and risk for the American people.”
Senators questioned Colby about some of his previous social media posts, including his assessment that Taiwan is “not existential for America,” which he reiterated.
Meanwhile, cross-strait relations were also raised in a separate confirmation hearing held on Tuesday for US deputy secretary of state nominee Christopher Landau.
US policy regarding Taiwan has long been informed by the Taiwan Relations Act, Landau said, adding that it is US policy to protect the economic and security interests of Taiwan to maintain peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific region.
He also raised the Three Joint Communiques, a set of bilateral agreements with China that acknowledges there is only “one China,” and the “six assurances,” commitments made to Taiwan thereafter that the US would not act as a cross-strait mediator or allow Beijing to dictate US arms sales to Taiwan.
Landau reiterated that the US strongly opposes any changes to the “status quo” and any attempts to resolve disputes through force.
The Senate Foreign Relations and Armed Services committees are expected to vote soon on Landau’s and Colby’s nominations.
If approved, the nominations would be sent to the full Senate for debate and a final vote, which would require a simple majority for Colby and Landau to be confirmed.
Additional reporting by CNA
A signaling system malfunction disrupted high-speed rail (HSR) services beginning at 8am today, with trains temporarily reduced to three northbound and three southbound trains per hour as authorities conduct inspections. The malfunction occurred on a section of track in Miaoli County during pre-operation checks early this morning, forcing northbound and southbound trains to use a single track, the HSR operator said. The regular schedule has been replaced with three hourly trains offering only nonreserved seating in each direction, stopping at every station, it said, adding that business class cars would still have reserved seating. Departures from terminal stations are scheduled at the top
DRONE CENTRAL: Taiwan aims to become Asia’s democratic hub for drones, with most exports focused on high-quality military-grade models, an official said Taiwan’s drone industry is expected to expand significantly by 2030, producing 100,000 units per month and exporting half of them, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said yesterday. Current drone production capacity is about 15,000 units per month, but the industry can quickly scale up as demand increases, Industrial Development Administration Director-General Chiou Chyou-huey (邱求慧) told a news conference in Taipei. Taiwan’s drone output grew 2.5-fold last year to NT$12.9 billion (US$408.3 million) under a government program to develop the uncrewed vehicle sector, he said. The Executive Yuan in October last year approved plans to invest NT$44.2 billion into domestic production of uncrewed aerial
VERBOSE VESSELS: A CGA cutter and a China Coast Guard exchanged verbal barbs for more than a day in Taiwanese-controlled waters before the Chinese vessel left The Taiwanese and Chinese coast guards had a standoff near the strategically located Pratas Islands (Dongsha Islands, 東沙群島) in the north of the South China Sea, the Coast Guard Administration (CGA) said yesterday. The two sides engaged in intense radio exchanges over sovereignty claims during the 33-hour standoff. China Coast Guard vessel 3501 eventually left the restricted waters, 26.6 nautical miles (49.2km) west of the Pratas Islands, at 5pm yesterday, the CGA said. Lying approximately between southern Taiwan and Hong Kong, the Taiwan-controlled Pratas are seen by some security experts as vulnerable to Chinese attack due to their distance — more than
WARNING: China should stop engaging in actions that undermine regional peace and stability, as it would only build resentment among people across the Strait, the CGA said China has deployed more than 100 navy, coast guard and other vessels in waters from the Yellow Sea to the South China Sea and the western Pacific since US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) met in Beijing, National Security Council Secretary-General Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) said yesterday. “In this part of the world, #China is the one & only PROBLEM wrecking the #StatusQuo & threatening regional peace & stability,” Wu wrote on X. In a separate post, he said Beijing was coercing Taiwan’s maritime domain, calling it illegal and provocative, after the Coast Guard Administration (CGA) expelled a
RSS