The top U.S. diplomat in Taiwan on Monday urged the island’s opposition-controlled parliament to approve President Lai Ching-te’s proposed $40 billion supplemental defence budget, citing rising pressure from China.
Raymond Greene, Washington’s de facto ambassador in Taipei, said lawmakers should move forward with the proposal to strengthen Taiwan’s deterrence capabilities amid growing tensions with China.
“This would not only send a critical signal to the international community, but is also essential for ensuring Taiwan acquires the full range of defence capabilities it has requested,” Greene said in an interview with the China Times newspaper.
Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te last year proposed $40 billion in supplemental defence spending, aimed at purchasing additional U.S.-made systems as well as domestically produced equipment, including drones.
The package includes integrated air and missile defence systems, which Greene said had proven vital in conflicts in the Middle East and Ukraine.
“As evidenced on the battlefields of the Middle East and Ukraine, these systems are not only critically important but are also in extremely high demand worldwide,” he said.
The proposal has stalled in parliament, where the opposition Kuomintang holds a majority.
Party officials say they support stronger defence spending but will not approve what they describe as “blank cheques” without more detailed explanations from the government.
Taiwan’s administration has warned delays could cause the island to lose its place in production and delivery queues for U.S. weapons, as global demand for military equipment continues to rise.
The United States remains Taiwan’s most important international backer and primary arms supplier. In December, Washington announced an $11 billion arms package for Taipei, the largest in history.
Speaking in parliament on Monday, Defence Minister Wellington Koo said the threat facing Taiwan was real and immediate.
“This is a matter that bears on the very survival of our country,” he said, citing Chinese naval activity near the Penghu islands in the Taiwan Strait in recent days.
Meanwhile, Kuomintang chairwoman Cheng Li-wun, who recently met Xi Jinping in Beijing, said Taiwan should not have to choose between China and the United States.
China, which claims Taiwan as its own territory, has repeatedly demanded that Washington stop selling weapons to the island.
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