The nominee to be the Pentagon’s senior official for the Indo-Pacific region on Tuesday said that he strongly supported US President Donald Trump in saying that Taiwan should spend up to 10 percent of its GDP on defense.
Taiwan’s proposed defense budget for next year is to be 3.32 percent of GDP, and President William Lai (賴清德) in August said the goal is to hit 5 percent by 2030, as the nation seeks to bolster its deterrence against China.
John Noh told his confirmation hearing at the US Senate Armed Services Committee that Taiwan’s current moves to increase its defense spending were “all promising.”
Photo: CNA
“It was President Trump who said that Taiwan, which is an island that faces an existential threat from the People’s Liberation Army, from the Chinese military, that Taiwan should spend upwards to 10 percent of its GDP on defense. I strongly support that,” he said.
Noh was responding to a question from US Senator Roger Wicker about US arms deliveries to Taiwan under the Presidential Drawdown Authority.
Noh, who is currently serving at the Pentagon as deputy assistant secretary for East Asia, added that while he applauds Taiwan’s efforts to increase defense spending, “Taiwan absolutely needs to do its part — spend more and acquire the kind of asymmetric capabilities that will be most relevant in an invasion scenario.”
Pushed by the US, Taiwan has been working to transform its armed forces to be able to wage “asymmetric warfare,” developing more mobile and lethal weapons including missiles, as well as cheaper systems such as drones that can be used for surveillance, as well as on attack missions.
Speaking to reporters at the legislature in Taipei yesterday, Minister of National Defense Wellington Koo (顧立雄) said defense spending was based on the enemy threat level.
The focus is on “asymmetric” warfare, resilience, bolstering the reserves and combating China’s “gray zone” activities, Koo said, referring to actions designed to pressure Taiwan that stop short of actual combat, such as regular military patrols near the nation.
“In fact the president has already promised that we will raise our defense spending, the core defense expenditure,” Koo said. “It will increase steadily to finally reach the 5 percent that the president has promised.”
However, he said that “overall fiscal conditions and capacity-building requirements must also be considered.”
Taiwan will continue to strengthen its ability to defend itself and is continuing with military reforms which are put into practice with real-life drills, he said.
Koo made the remarks before a legislative hearing on a NT$550 billion (US$18 billion) special budget aimed at boosting social and economic resilience. The plan includes NT$113.2 billion earmarked for hardening military communications systems, upgrading and maintaining facilities and infrastructure, and bolstering maritime defense.
Additional reporting by CNA
The Taiwanese passport ranked 33rd in a global listing of passports by convenience this month, rising three places from last month’s ranking, but matching its position in January last year. The Henley Passport Index, an international ranking of passports by the number of designations its holder can travel to without a visa, showed that the Taiwan passport enables holders to travel to 139 countries and territories without a visa. Singapore’s passport was ranked the most powerful with visa-free access to 192 destinations out of 227, according to the index published on Tuesday by UK-based migration investment consultancy firm Henley and Partners. Japan’s and
NATIONAL SECURITY THREAT: An official said that Guan Guan’s comments had gone beyond the threshold of free speech, as she advocated for the destruction of the ROC China-born media influencer Guan Guan’s (關關) residency permit has been revoked for repeatedly posting pro-China content that threatens national security, the National Immigration Agency said yesterday. Guan Guan has said many controversial things in her videos posted to Douyin (抖音), including “the red flag will soon be painted all over Taiwan” and “Taiwan is an inseparable part of China,” while expressing hope for expedited “reunification.” The agency received multiple reports alleging that Guan Guan had advocated for armed reunification last year. After investigating, the agency last month issued a notice requiring her to appear and account for her actions. Guan Guan appeared as required,
Japan and the Philippines yesterday signed a defense pact that would allow the tax-free provision of ammunition, fuel, food and other necessities when their forces stage joint training to boost deterrence against China’s growing aggression in the region and to bolster their preparation for natural disasters. Japan has faced increasing political, trade and security tensions with China, which was angered by Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s remark that a Chinese attack on Taiwan would be a survival-threatening situation for Japan, triggering a military response. Japan and the Philippines have also had separate territorial conflicts with Beijing in the East and South China
A strong cold air mass is expected to arrive tonight, bringing a change in weather and a drop in temperature, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The coldest time would be early on Thursday morning, with temperatures in some areas dipping as low as 8°C, it said. Daytime highs yesterday were 22°C to 24°C in northern and eastern Taiwan, and about 25°C to 28°C in the central and southern regions, it said. However, nighttime lows would dip to about 15°C to 16°C in central and northern Taiwan as well as the northeast, and 17°C to 19°C elsewhere, it said. Tropical Storm Nokaen, currently
RSS