TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — US President Donald Trump's pick for Pentagon policy on Tuesday said military spending cuts by Taiwan's Legislative Yuan are disturbing, and the country's defense spending should be raised to more than 10% of its GDP.
Elbridge Colby, the nominee for undersecretary of defense for policy, told the Senate Armed Services Committee that his stance on Taiwan's value to the US has remained consistent. He said the US commitment to Taiwan is primarily "largely implicit or indirect or customary," but the Pentagon has made this commitment more concrete by designating Taiwan as a "pacing scenario."
However, given China’s growing threat and America’s preparedness challenges, he has reassessed Taiwan’s defense situation. Colby emphasized that he has consistently tried to sound the alarm, "that it is vital for us to focus and enable our own forces for an effective and reasonable defense of Taiwan," while also pushing Taiwan and Japan to take on more responsibility.
Despite Taiwan's recent increases in defense spending, Colby said that its defense budget as a percentage of GDP remains well below 3%. “I agree with President Trump that they should be more like 10% or at least something in that ballpark really focused on their defense," said Colby.
He added that one of his key objectives upon taking office would be to prevent Taiwan from “precipitating a conflict that is not necessary with Beijing” while giving the US military time and space to address the deteriorating balance of power with China. He stressed that the US's core interest is "denying China regional hegemony.”
When asked about Taiwan’s legislature cutting its defense budget, Colby said, “I'm profoundly disturbed.” Colby said that in his policy communications and recommendations regarding Taiwan, he has consistently pushed for Taiwan to learn from South Korea by developing a "more serious military."
He argued that expecting Americans, particularly US troops, to take on risks while “our allies are not pulling their weight” is unfair to the US and not a viable strategy.
Last year, Colby repeatedly urged Taiwan to increase its defense spending from 2.5% of its GDP to a minimum of 5%. He argued that Taiwan’s large foreign reserves of nearly US$580 billion could be used to fund this.
