Taiwan risks "losing a lot of trust" with the US and other partners in the Indo-Pacific region if it does not provide for its own defense, former US Indo-Pacific Command (INDOPACOM) intelligence chief Michael Studeman said in Taipei yesterday.
"How can you expect other nations to support your defense if you don’t decide to invest in your own?" he asked.
He called on lawmakers and leaders of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) to “be on Taiwan’s side” and promptly move forward the Cabinet’s NT$1.25 trillion (US$39.48 billion) supplementary defense budget bill.
Photo: Fang Pin-chao, Taipei Times
Studeman said he believes the NT$1.25 trillion defense bill, developed by professionals based on Taiwan’s needs, should pass "as soon as possible," rather than a "partial or diluted version."
Studeman made the remarks at a public event in Taipei promoting the Chinese-language edition of his book, Might of the Chain: Forging Leaders of Iron Integrity, while discussing the dangers posed by China’s leadership and military.
Recounting his first briefing in 2021 to then-president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) at the Presidential Office, Studeman, who served as INDOPACOM director of intelligence from 2019 to 2022, said the US government was concerned about whether Taiwan had “the clearest insights” into Chinese leader Xi Jinping (習近平), the Chinese military and its political warfare.
Studeman said he was therefore sent by the White House to brief Tsai and her national security team on “exactly what was happening,” to help Taiwan make the most informed decisions about its future.
"And to her credit, and to President [William] Lai’s (賴清德) credit, they have taken the dangers seriously and are on a path to do more to safeguard Taiwan’s democracy in the face of a very, very real challenge," he said.
"I hope the Legislative Yuan and KMT leaders also decide that they need to be on Taiwan’s side and not on Beijing’s side, and move forward the defense bill to put Taiwan in an even better position, given the dangers all around," he said.
Studeman said those who attempt to thwart the defense plan raise questions about whether they are “doing Beijing’s work for them.”
"The longer this goes on, the only one it benefits is China and the CCP," he said.
The KMT and the Taiwan People’s Party, which together hold a legislative majority, have been blocking the Cabinet’s proposed version, arguing that, among other issues, approval of the eight-year NT$1.25 trillion special defense budget would give the government a blank check to bypass routine annual legislative oversight.
The KMT has sponsored its own version of the defense bill, which earmarks NT$380 billion and includes provisions mandating review of further budget proposals upon receipt of letters of acceptance for future weapons sales.
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