TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Last week's budget cuts approved by the KMT and TPP severely weaken Taiwan’s security amid escalating cross-strait tensions and demonstrate how little the opposition parties care about the nation’s sovereignty.
The 2025 government budget, reduced by NT$207.5 billion (US$6.34 billion), could not have come at a worse time. China’s military activities around Taiwan have only increased since President Lai Ching-te (賴清德) took office in May. Lai has rightly continued to boost domestic military development to strengthen defense capabilities, but freezing 30% of the defense ministry’s operational funds impedes any future progress Taiwan hopes to make.
Threat to national security
China launched three major live-fire exercises near Taiwan last year. In May, days after Lai's inauguration, the Chinese military held its two-day Joint Sword A exercise around Taiwan, including its outlying islands.
In October, China carried out the Joint Sword-2024B. Two months later, it deployed its largest fleet in years near Taiwan and neighboring countries for drills. Approximately 90 Chinese navy and coast guard vessels operated in the region, responding to Lai’s trip to South Pacific allies, which included layovers in Hawaii and Guam.
Additionally, 3,075 Chinese aircraft entered Taiwan’s air defense identification zone between January and December 2024, according to data compiled by ChinaPower.
Deputy Defense Minister Po Horng-huei (柏鴻輝) said freezing operational funds hinders the military’s efforts to counter China’s daily gray zone tactics, including ADIZ incursions and deployment of coast guard ships to Taiwan’s outlying islands.
The 60% cut in the defense ministry’s public relations budget destroys the transparency between the military and the public. For example, the daily ADIZ reports help keep the Taiwanese informed about the ongoing threats from China. Taiwanese need to understand what the military is doing to protect the nation so there is trust and confidence in defense.
China intends to seize Taiwan once an opportunity presents itself. Each military drill is a reminder that the threat of an invasion will never stop, underlining why building Taiwan’s defense capabilities is so important.
Lai recognized this fact during a visit to military installations in Taitung on Tuesday, saying, “In the face of ever-changing threats and challenges, only peace built on our own strength is true peace.” “We cannot place peace in the hands of others’ goodwill," the president said.
The new spending plan also includes freezing half of the NT$2 billion budget for Taiwan’s Narwhal submarine construction program, which the KMT argues is too costly and will take too long to complete. The party also claimed a lack of justification for such a program by the defense ministry.
The ministry must submit a comprehensive report to the legislature only after the Narwhal completes sea trials to access the remaining NT$1 billion.
Even before the freeze was approved, the Navy warned the move would delay the timeline for subsequent submarines, degrade the cross-strait combat power imbalance, and send wrong signals to the international community. It would also lead to reduced export permits from foreign governments and the loss of shipbuilding personnel.
Submarines are critical asymmetric assets for protecting sea lines of communication and maintaining Taiwan Strait security, the Navy said. They also build credible deterrence to ensure peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait, it added.
Mixed messages
Another factor to consider is that the US may perceive Taiwan’s limited defense spending as a sign it does not take self-defense seriously. As a result, support in Washington, D.C. will diminish, putting Taiwan at a higher risk of a Chinese takeover.
Taiwan’s Cabinet approved an NT$647 billion defense budget for 2025 in August, equating to 2.45% of GDP. This was a move in the right direction, but the opposition’s actions rendered the achievement worthless.
Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) expressed concern on Tuesday that the budget cut shows the world that Taiwan's legislature has reduced its commitment to national defense. “Our international credibility, responsibility, and determination have all been undermined, which is highly inappropriate,” Cho said.
The situation is dire with Trump’s return to the White House. He is already questioning America’s security commitments to Taiwan, claiming it needs to pay more for protection.
In a meeting with Lai in May, US lawmaker Michael McCaul vowed to speed up arms deliveries to Taiwan but said, “Without budget increases, Taiwan will not be able to protect democracy from the CCP aggression.”
Former US National Security Adviser Robert O'Brien called on Taiwan to boost its defense budget to 5% of its GDP. "They've got to ramp up their spending to contend with the PRC and CCP, and we can help them, we can be part of that,” he said in a July Bloomberg interview.
The US is willing to help Taiwan counter China, but Taipei must prove to Washington why its efforts would be worth it.
Cozying up to China
The opposition parties may be seeking to appease China by decreasing defense funds, believing that doing so might spare them from suffering during an invasion.
However, their belief is misguided. Though China often says it only targets “Taiwan separatists,” everyone who participates in the nation’s democratic system falls under this label. This includes KMT and TPP politicians.
If China launches missiles at Taiwan, they cannot distinguish people by party affiliation.
The opposition parties think cutting the defense ministry’s spending power will de-escalate cross-strait tensions, but nothing could be further from the truth. It would only embolden China to increase military operations around the country and launch more disinformation campaigns to deepen mistrust between the Taiwanese and the government.
Taiwan’s National Security Bureau pointed out in a recent report that the Chinese Communist Party uses local gangs, underground financial institutions, shell companies, and religious organizations to recruit individuals for espionage. These targets use tactics including exploiting camaraderie among former colleagues to form infiltration networks and sponsoring religious activities to gain access to military personnel and government officials.
In a separate report, the NSB also said Chinese cyberattacks on Taiwan’s government agencies and infrastructure are on the rise. Taiwan faced an average of 2.4 million cyberattacks per day in 2024, the bureau said. Chinese cyber forces employed "Living off-the-Land" techniques to evade detection and carried out social engineering attacks on public officials’ email accounts to steal sensitive information, it added.
Furthermore, China is suspected of cutting Taiwan’s undersea cables. Despite knowing about these efforts to sabotage Taiwan’s democratic society, the KMT and TPP continue to pursue friendly relations with China.
Path to destruction
Whereas the DPP has signified it is open to talks with Beijing with no preconditions, the opposition’s constant calls for cross-strait dialogue are meaningless because it would mean accepting the “one China” principle.
The budget cuts symbolize the opposition’s degradation of Taiwan’s sovereignty. They must be stopped before more damage is done. If they continue to have their way, Taiwan will inevitably become a part of China.
