The US Senate yesterday confirmed Elbridge Colby as US undersecretary of defense for policy, a defense strategist who last year said that a Chinese invasion of Taiwan would “plausibly and gravely” threaten the US.
Colby’s nomination was approved in a 54-45 vote, with former Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell being the only majority party lawmaker to vote against it.
Three Democratic senators supported his confirmation.
Photo: Bloomberg
Colby was deputy assistant secretary of defense for strategy and force development during US President Donald Trump’s first term as president.
He is known for arguing that the US military should prioritize competition with China, and shift its focus from the Middle East and Europe.
Last month, Colby told the US Senate Committee on Armed Services that “Taiwan’s fall would be a disaster for American interests,” referring to a potential invasion by the People’s Republic of China.
He also said that Taiwan’s defense spending was too low to adequately address the threat posed by China.
“I think actually as a proportion of GDP, it’s well below 3 percent,” Colby said on March 4. “I agree with President Trump that they should be more like 10 percent or at least something in that ballpark really focused on their defense.”
Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) on March 12 said that the government did “not have the capacity” to spend 10 percent of the country’s GDP annually on national defense.
Additional reporting by Reuters
Taiwan is stepping up plans to create self-sufficient supply chains for combat drones and increase foreign orders from the US to counter China’s numerical superiority, a defense official said on Saturday. Commenting on condition of anonymity, the official said the nation’s armed forces are in agreement with US Admiral Samuel Paparo’s assessment that Taiwan’s military must be prepared to turn the nation’s waters into a “hellscape” for the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA). Paparo, the commander of the US Indo-Pacific Command, reiterated the concept during a Congressional hearing in Washington on Wednesday. He first coined the term in a security conference last
Prosecutors today declined to say who was questioned regarding alleged forgery on petitions to recall Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislators, after Chinese-language media earlier reported that members of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Youth League were brought in for questioning. The Ministry of Justice Investigation Bureau confirmed that two people had been questioned, but did not disclose any further information about the ongoing investigation. KMT Youth League members Lee Hsiao-liang (李孝亮) and Liu Szu-yin (劉思吟) — who are leading the effort to recall DPP caucus chief executive Rosalia Wu (吳思瑤) and Legislator Wu Pei-yi (吳沛憶) — both posted on Facebook saying: “I
The Ministry of Economic Affairs has fined Taobao NT$1.2 million (US$36,912) for advertisements that exceed its approved business scope, requiring the Chinese e-commerce platform to make corrections in the first half of this year or its license may be revoked. Lawmakers have called for stricter enforcement of Chinese e-commerce platforms and measures to prevent China from laundering its goods through Taiwan in response to US President Donald Trump’s heavy tariffs on China. The Legislative Yuan’s Finance Committee met today to discuss policies to prevent China from dumping goods in Taiwan, inviting government agencies to report. Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Kuo Kuo-wen (郭國文) said
The Ministry of Economic Affairs has fined Taobao NT$1.2 million (US$36,900) for advertisements that exceeded its approved business scope and ordered the Chinese e-commerce platform to make corrections in the first half of this year or its license would be revoked. Lawmakers have called for stricter supervision of Chinese e-commerce platforms and more stringent measures to prevent China from laundering its goods through Taiwan as US President Donald Trump’s administration cracks down on origin laundering. The legislature’s Finance Committee yesterday met to discuss policies to prevent China from dumping goods in Taiwan, inviting government agencies to report on the matter. Democratic Progressive Party