Taiwan should ask to participate in military exercises with the US to strengthen joint deterrence and develop synergy between their forces, a former Pentagon official said on Tuesday.
“Taiwan should figure out ways to get something for itself on some issues, because the US will not take action,” Tony Hu (胡振東) said at a panel held by the Prospect Foundation, a Taipei-based think tank.
They were discussing the Ministry of National Defense’s Quadrennial Defense Review.
Photo: Tu Chien-jung, Taipei Times
Hu, who served as the first senior country director for Taiwan at the Pentagon, said Taiwan should ask to be an observer at the Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) exercise next year and strive toward becoming a full participant in 2028.
In the past, countries that participated in RIMPAC had concerns about Taiwan’s participation, but Taiwan now has a better chance at participating, as the international climate has changed, he said.
“I hope Taiwan has already gotten in touch with the Pentagon and the [US] Department of State to seek approval, and that it will gain the support of the [US] Info-Pacific Command,” Hu said.
Another opportunity would be whenever a US Navy vessel transits the Taiwan Strait for Taiwan’s navy to engage in passing exercises, or “PASSEXes,” with the US vessel, to test their data links and familiarize themselves with radio communications, Hu said.
Through such joint exercises, the two sides could also establish a common operating procedure, which would be crucial for data sharing on the battlefield, and define their roles and missions to develop synergy, he said.
The report included a section dedicated to the ministry’s plans on deepening military cooperation with the US, which it called an “important strategic partner” of Taiwan.
Regarding calls from US officials and a recent pledge by President William Lai (賴清德) to increase the defense budget, Hu supported the idea, saying the “cost of building a strong defense is but a small fraction of the cost of war, which would be an astronomical figure.”
Lai on Feb. 14 pledged to raise the defense budget from about 2.45 percent to at least 3 percent of the country’s GDP.
US undersecretary of defense for policy nominee Elbridge Colby said at a US Senate hearing this month that Taiwan needed to raise its defense spending to about 10 percent.
Prospect Foundation president Lai I-chung (賴怡忠), who moderated the panel, said that GDP is not a suitable metric for measuring Taiwan’s commitment to its defense, as the country’s general budget makes up only about 15 percent of its GDP, whereas the US’ federal budget accounts for about 25 percent of its GDP.
Therefore, if Taiwan spent 5 percent of its GDP on defense, or one-third of its general budget, it would seriously crowd out funds for other government functions, he said.
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