President Lai Ching-te met two US congressional delegations on Oct. 8, laying out Taiwan's rising defense investment and proposing a "non-red" drone supply chain. The US lawmakers praised the Legislative Yuan's passage of a special military budget.
According to the United Daily News and the Taipei Times, President Lai Ching-te met in succession at the Presidential Office on Oct. 8 a delegation led by US Representative Brendan Boyle, the ranking Democrat on the House Budget Committee, and one led by Senator Michael Bennet. He repeatedly stressed that peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait are tied to the First Island Chain and to the stability and development of the Indo-Pacific.
광고 문의 · 300×250From Procurement to Joint Development and Production
The Taipei Times reported that Lai asked Washington to broaden cooperation beyond traditional arms sales to joint research and production of military equipment, especially uncrewed systems. He said peace "can only be secured through strength" and that Taiwan hopes to move step by step from military procurement to joint research, development and production, adding that democracies should stand united.
He also gave spending figures. The United Daily News said Lai put this year's defense budget at 3.2 percent of GDP, rising to 3.9 percent next year and to 5 percent before 2030. More important than the amount, he said, is changing the way Taiwan defends itself, adopting artificial intelligence, uncrewed vehicles, space technology and new communications and command systems to build a more dispersed, resilient, asymmetric defense.
To Bennet, Lai expressed thanks for his long-standing support, including a joint letter backing higher Taiwanese defense investment and his work on the First Island Chain Deterrence Act and the Six Assurances to Taiwan Act, which would institutionalize key US commitments. Lai also hoped for US-Taiwan cooperation on a "non-red" drone supply chain and deeper space and industrial ties.
Reactions From the US Side
Boyle said Americans and Taiwanese are bound by shared values. Bennet said his visit gave him a clear picture of the threats Taiwan faces and that Taiwanese leaders' shared commitment to defending democracy transcends political differences. He praised the legislature's approval of a US$24 billion special arms procurement budget and more than US$7 billion for building uncrewed systems, and said he would work with colleagues in Congress to ensure full implementation of the Taiwan Relations Act and the Six Assurances.
In a related report the same day, the United Daily News said China Coast Guard vessels have continued operating in waters off eastern Taiwan. Professor Ma Chen-kun of the National Defense University analyzed that Beijing follows a "keep the islands, not the sea" approach around Taiwan and disputed South China Sea features, gradually squeezing the surrounding waters without sparking military conflict. This is the view of a Taiwanese expert; Beijing does not accept such characterizations.