TAIPEI (TVBS News) — Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) firmly pushed back against reported American pressure for Taiwan to dramatically increase its defense spending to 10% of GDP during a tense exchange in Wednesday's Legislative Yuan (立法院) session. Such a figure would represent an unprecedented military budget expansion for the island nation.
The confrontation unfolded when opposition Kuomintang (KMT, 國民黨) caucus whip Fu Kun-chi (傅崐萁) pressed the Premier on Taiwan's response to these substantial American expectations. Fu highlighted the staggering financial implications, noting that with Taiwan's projected GDP of NT$26.8868 trillion, a 10% allocation would require committing NT$2.688 trillion to defense—an amount that would fundamentally reshape national spending priorities.
"The Republic of China (中華民國) is currently unable to meet this requirement," Cho declared unequivocally, addressing the high-stakes geopolitical demand. The Premier also acknowledged that while U.S. President Donald Trump has made similar budgetary demands of various allies, Taiwan simply cannot allocate NT$2.6 trillion for defense at this stage. He emphasized the critical need to maintain balance between Taiwan's financial capacity and its legitimate military requirements.
When Fu pressed further, challenging Cho to publicly declare his position on the American demands, the Premier stood firm, reaffirming Taiwan's current fiscal limitations and explicitly stating that Taiwan cannot meet U.S. expectations this year.
The defense spending discussion expanded to include another sensitive security topic when Fu inquired about potential plans to extend Taiwan's mandatory military service to two years. Cho promptly dismissed this possibility, explaining that service duration is determined by established national policy and would remain unchanged for the foreseeable future.
The exchange highlights Taiwan's delicate balancing act — managing crucial security relationships with the United States while maintaining fiscal responsibility and domestic policy independence amid growing regional tensions.