Taipei, Taiwan. The top U.S. diplomat in Taiwan urged the island’s opposition-majority parliament on Monday to pass a “comprehensive” defence budget, saying integrated air and missile defence systems and drones are in high demand globally.
Proposal and parliamentary deadlock
President Lai Ching-te last year proposed $40 billion in supplemental defence spending covering new U.S. weapons and domestically produced systems such as drones, saying Taipei needs to more effectively deter the threat from China, which views the island as its own territory.
Lai has said only Taiwan’s people can decide the island’s future.
Talks in parliament have stalled, with the main Kuomintang (KMT) opposition party saying it supports defence spending but will not sign “blank cheques” and wants more details from the government.
Greene calls for comprehensive budget package
In an interview with the China Times, Raymond Greene, the de facto U.S. ambassador in Taipei, said it was vital for Taiwan to pass a “comprehensive budget package.”
Greene said the move would send a signal to the international community and was essential to ensure Taiwan acquires the full range of defence capabilities it has requested.
He said Taiwan’s special defence budget seeks integrated air and missile defence systems and drones, among other items, alongside weapons already announced for sale by the United States, including the Lockheed Martin-made HIMARS multiple launch rocket system.
Greene, who heads the American Institute in Taiwan, said the importance of these systems was demonstrated on the battlefields of the Middle East and Ukraine and that they are in extremely high demand worldwide.
Concerns over delays and security environment
Taiwan’s government has said delays in passing the budget could risk Taiwan losing its place in the production and delivery queue for U.S. weapons.
Speaking at parliament on Monday, Defence Minister Wellington Koo said the threat Taiwan faced was not just “random talk,” citing Chinese warships spotted in recent days in waters to the southwest of Taiwan’s Penghu islands in the Taiwan Strait.
What details would you want lawmakers to see before approving Taiwan’s supplemental defence budget?
