U.S. Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs Robert O’Brien warned China on Wednesday (Oct. 7) against attempting to seize Taiwan by force and called on Taiwan to increase its defense budget in response to China’s growing military expansion.
Speaking at an event at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, on cross-strait relations between Taiwan and China, O’Brien said China is undertaking a massive naval buildup that is equal to the resources Germany devoted to competing with the British Royal Navy in World War I, according to Reuters.
He emphasized that China’s aggressive development of naval power in recent years has been aimed at asserting sea power over its coastal areas. Such a development, on a scale not seen since World War I, underscores China’s ambitions.
According to O’Brien, China’s massive naval expansion is also intended to give them the ability to drive the U.S. Navy out of the Western Pacific and create the opportunity for an amphibious landing on Taiwan.
The problem,” he said, “is that an amphibious landing is very difficult. China and Taiwan are 100 miles apart and there are very few beaches on the island that would qualify for an amphibious landing.”
Asked at the event, “How would the U.S. respond if China were to unify Taiwan with its own forces,” O’Brien said, “This is not an easy decision. policy.”
U.S. law requires the U.S. to provide Taiwan with certain means of self-defense, such as defensive weapons, but does not specify whether the U.S. would intervene if China proceeds with armed reunification.
In response, O’Brien reiterated the United States’ strong call for Taiwan to increase defense spending and undertake military reform. He said, “You can’t just spend 1 percent of your GDP on defense, which is what Taiwan has been doing. They’re spending only 1.2 percent of their GDP hoping to stop China’s largest military expansion in 70 years.”
Taiwan’s plan to increase defense spending by $1.4 billion next year is not enough, the senior U.S. defense official for East Asian affairs said Tuesday.
O’Brien said Taiwan needs to significantly increase its purchases of equipment such as coastal defense cruise missiles, mines, fast attack boats and advanced surveillance equipment to keep up with China’s expansion.
In response, Taiwan’s Ministry of Defense said that they will strive for a budget sufficient to build a military that meets the needs of the defense forces.
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