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
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