Former US National Security Advisor Robert O’Brien said on Wednesday that Taiwan needs to significantly increase its defense spending in the face of threats from the CCP.
O’Brien, who served as Trump’s fourth and last National Security Advisor, made these remarks during an interview with the media in response to Trump’s earlier comments.
In a recent interview with Bloomberg Businessweek, Trump suggested that Taiwan should pay for its defense. He stated, “I have tremendous respect for the Taiwanese people. But they have taken away about 100% of our chip business. I think Taiwan should pay us for defense.”
When asked how to interpret Trump’s remarks, O’Brien expressed his belief that Trump meant Taiwan should make greater contributions to its own defense.
“He (Trump) believes that the Taiwanese people must increase spending to counter the PRC and the CCP. We can help them, we can be involved. But I think the President’s point is… we need to share the burden,” O’Brien said.
O’Brien clarified that he is not a member of Trump’s campaign team and that he was only expressing his personal opinions. He emphasized that the willingness of the Taiwanese people to defend themselves is crucial.
He suggested that Taiwan consider allocating at least 5% of its GDP for defense to keep up with the pace of CCP’s military build-up, though he stressed that this figure is just a rough estimate.
During Trump’s presidency, he strongly supported Taiwan, including arms sales. He signed the Taiwan Assurance Act in December 2020, calling for normalized arms sales to Taiwan and supporting Taiwan’s meaningful participation in international organizations.
In light of escalating CCP activities in the Indo-Pacific region, the US has been keen on a plan known within the Pentagon as “Fortress Taiwan” to militarily counterbalance the CCP’s threats to Taiwan.
Despite having significant military assets in the Indo-Pacific region to address the CCP’s Taiwan threat, Taiwan mostly relies on purchasing US weapons rather than direct US aid.
A US State Department spokesperson, Matthew Miller, stated on Wednesday that Taiwan essentially purchases its military equipment from the US, emphasizing that it is not a charitable endeavor for the US.
The Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the US, effectively Taiwan’s embassy in the US, released a statement affirming that maintaining peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait aligns with US and international interests.
Taiwan’s Premier Su Tseng-chang also expressed Taiwan’s willingness to take on more responsibility in the Taiwan Strait and Indo-Pacific region to defend itself and safeguard its security.
According to data from the US Congressional Research Service, Taiwan’s military expenditure as a percentage of GDP increased from 2% in 2017 to 2.5% in 2023.
A survey in December last year showed that nearly 60% of Taiwanese people support increasing defense spending to 3% of GDP. Former US Defense Secretary Mark Esper suggested raising it to 3%-3.5% to address CCP threats.
During the interview on Wednesday, O’Brien also urged the US to engage in a comprehensive strategic decoupling from Beijing, reducing reliance on China in various sectors such as rare earth elements, semiconductors, artificial intelligence, quantum computing, pharmaceuticals, and automobiles.
He warned that the CCP could potentially dismantle Germany’s automotive industry and highlighted Trump’s consideration of imposing 100% tariffs on Chinese car imports and implementing full tariffs on Chinese goods.
(This article is partially based on reports from Reuters and Bloomberg)