A bipartisan delegation from the US Senate yesterday reiterated the importance of passing a sufficient defense budget, as Taiwan requires robust asymmetric rather than baseline capabilities to deter aggression.
The visiting group included US Senate Committee on Foreign Relations members Jeanne Shaheen and John Curtis, Senate Taiwan Caucus cochair Thom Tillis and Senate Committee on Armed Services senior member Jacky Rosen.
After meeting with President William Lai (賴清德), Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) and government officials, and visiting the Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology on Monday, the delegation yesterday visited private-sector companies and non-governmental organizations, before making a brief stop at Taipei Guest House for a news conference, followed by a visit to the legislature.
Photo: Liu Hsin-de, Taipei Times
At the news conference, Shaheen said their visit to Taiwan had been “very productive,” and she believes the US-Taiwan partnership is more important than ever, as the stability of the Indo-Pacific region and the global economy depends on it.
“Taiwan must continue to take bold steps to build its defensive capabilities,” she said. “It’s crucial that all parties in Taiwan come together to approve robust supplementary defense spending, a package that enables not only purchases of critical American equipment, but also asymmetric capabilities that are produced right here in Taiwan.”
Strengthening deterrence in the Taiwan Strait requires capabilities that are fit for modern warfare, which is a mix of US systems and Taiwan’s own systems, she said.
Taiwan has developed into an innovation hub focused on drones and missile defense, but needs additional resources, she added.
“The bipartisan support that underpins US-Taiwan relations is rock solid,” Shaheen said, adding that it has spanned decades and transcended political changes in Washington, so she is confident that it would continue for decades to come.
Sharing his personal observation of having lived in Taiwan as a young man in 1979 under Martial Law to seeing Taiwan’s vast prosperity and flourishing democracy today, Curtis said the US-Taiwan relationship has changed dramatically to that of “two partners.”
He said he strongly feels that Taiwan should pass the special defense budget, as it sends the message of Taiwan “carrying their weight” and “picking up their end of the stick.”
Tillis said Taiwan is “an extraordinary example of how democracy and free markets can free a people and create such an innovative society,” and has become a major influence in global economics and trade.
“It’s vitally important to make sure that you protect this precious gift that you’ve been given, the wonderful results that come from this generation and the generation before you,” he said.
He said Russia’s illegal war in Ukraine has shown that Ukraine defended its territory well, not only through a constellation of conventional kinetic capabilities, but also through the “asymmetrical capabilities that they have developed and become extraordinary at in terms of manufacturing and deploying on the battlefield.”
“Taiwan has already determined and developed capabilities that — if they have the funding at scale — can create a dimension on the battlefield and uncertainty that really even goes beyond some of the conventional weapons,” he said.
Tillis said Taiwan should not make the mistake of underfunding baseline capabilities, as that could be identified by an adversary as a vulnerability: That Taiwan cannot create the level of uncertainty that comes through asymmetrical capabilities.
Rosen said she was “consistently impressed by the resilience, the determination and the innovation of the Taiwanese people” during her first trip to Taiwan.
“Around the world, we’ve learned that deterrence — grounded in credible, responsible defense investments — helps us preserve stability,” Rosen said.
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