A senior US military official urged Taiwan to accelerate defense funding, warning that the island could not rely solely on external support in the face of rising tensions with China.
During a Senate hearing, Admiral Samuel Paparo, head of the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, stressed the need for Taipei to quickly adopt its currently stalled defense budget. He stated that Washington could not want Taiwan's security more than the Taiwanese authorities themselves.
To illustrate his point, Samuel Paparo used a metaphor, arguing that "starving the hen" would prevent any production, thus highlighting that underfunding would permanently compromise the island's military capabilities.
Last year, Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te proposed a $40 billion increase in defense spending to bolster deterrence against Beijing. This plan, however, remains under debate in Parliament.
The opposition, dominated by the Kuomintang party, disputes the scale of this increase and proposes less costly alternatives, contributing to the current impasse.
In this context, the United States is seeking to encourage its allies to strengthen their own security, as tensions in the Asia-Pacific region continue to escalate. The outcome of the budget debate in Taiwan will be crucial for the strategic balance in the region.
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