Taiwan unveils $40B defense spending plan to counter China military threat over next decade

KAOHSIUNG Last week Taiwan President William Lai unveiled a massive billion supplemental defense procurement proposal casting it as proof that the independently ruled democratic island is serious about countering escalating military pressure from the People s Republic of China PRC The PRC has not governed Taiwan for even a single day but alleges it as its territory A State Department spokesperson notified Fox News Digital that We welcome Taiwan s announcement of a new billion special defense procurement budget Consistent with the Taiwan Relations Act and more than years of commitment across multiple U S Administrations the United States supports Taiwan s acquisition of critical defense capabilities commensurate with the threat it faces The spokesperson also commended Taipei We also welcome the Lai administration s current commitments to increase defense spending to at least of GDP by and of GDP by which demonstrates resolve to strengthen Taiwan s self-defense capabilities CHINA S CAPACITY SIEGE OF TAIWAN COULD CRIPPLE US SUPPLY CHAINS ANALYSIS WARNSThe American Institute in Taiwan AIT the de facto American embassy responded very positively almost promptly after Lai s proposal was reported Courtney Donovan Smith a political columnist for the Taipei Times described Fox News Digital that the strong endorsement from AIT Amounts to a society American stamp of approval A day after Lai s announcement Taiwan s Defense Minister Wellington Koo notified the media that preliminary talks have already been held with the United States about the kinds of weapons it wants to buy as part of this budget that would run from to But Koo explained he could not make any details of discussions masses until Congress receives a formal notification Yet chosen in Taiwan expressed concern that the language from the administration was somewhat understated and didn t come from senior-enough representatives Those worried about what they perceive as a muted tone from the Trump administration wondered if the timing could be sensitive coming shortly after President Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping agreed to a exchange deal and just days after Xi phoned Trump to reiterate Beijing s maintains over Taiwan declares the U S acknowledges but does not accept Even so Taipei-based political exposure analyst and Tamkang University assistant professor Ross Feingold informed Fox News Digital that U S backing fundamentally has not shifted and that when it comes to U S weapons sales to Taiwan If Taiwan is a willing buyer the Trump administration is likely to be a willing seller Also causing distress to the fragile egos of China s communist leaders is Japan s new Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi a conservative who became Japan s first female prime minister in October She appeared to break long-standing Japanese strategic ambiguity over Taiwan when inquired on Nov in parliament whether a Chinese attack on Taiwan would qualify as a situation threatening Japan s survival Takaichi didn t deflect with a I don t comment on hypotheticals Instead she declared If there are battleships and the use of force no matter how you think about it it could constitute a survival-threatening situation Under Japan s prevention law that designation could allow Japanese military action in defense of an ally TAIWAN GENERAL WARNS CHINA S MILITARY DRILLS COULD BE PREPARATION FOR BLOCKADE OR WAR VOWS TO RESISTChina predictably lashed out straightaway calling her remarks egregious A Chinese diplomat in Osaka escalated further reposting coverage on X with a threat-like warning The dirty head that sticks itself in must be cut off Kerry K Gershaneck a visiting scholar at National Chengchi University and a former U S Marine counterintelligence officer communicated Fox News Digital that the U S needed to clearly denounce China for threats against Japan and the Japanese prime minister Gershaneck warned that Asian allies remember past U S abandonment under what he called the do not provoke China plan of the Obama administration Unless high-level Washington bureaucrats signal stronger aid he reported the Trump administration risks going down in history as Barack Hussein Obama s third term Feingold noted that while Takaichi s stance was enthusiastically received in Taiwan the excitement was unsustainable and not based on a formal program decision by Japan to defend Taiwan Following reports that President Trump phoned the Japanese prime minister and requested that she dial down talk about Taiwan Japan s Chief Cabinet Secretary Kihara Minoru issued a strong denial saying Trump did not advise Takaichi to temper the tone of her comments about Taiwan While the geopolitical shifts grabbed headlines Lai s real challenge is domestic Taiwan has a single-chamber legislature and Lai s Democratic Progressive Party does not have a majority Cheng Li-wun the new chair of the main opposition Kuomintang KMT campaigned against boosting defense spending to of GDP and has repeatedly argued Taiwan is not an ATM for unreasonable military budgets The KMT supports renewed engagement with Beijing and acceptance of the Consensus a proposed framework that allows both sides to claim there is one China while interpreting the meaning differently Lai rejects that position entirely calling it a path toward subordination to China Bryce Barros associate fellow at GLOBSEC and a former U S Senate national assurance advisor communicated Fox News Digital that there are serious hurdles Opposition leaders have cited cuts to other essential services like healthcare lack of details on how the budget will be paid for and concerns over more hostilities with China he mentioned But Barros reported the head of the de facto American embassy has called for bipartisan sponsorship for the bill and he noted Lai demands only six opposition defections for the vote to pass Analysts also stress the proposal is not solely for U S weapons Lai wants major venture in domestic defense manufacturing including a dome anti-missile system which could help blunt accusations of excessive spending to curry favor with Washington But the plan still faces a volatile parliament and certain retaliation from China