Trump says Taiwan should spend more on defence – while it waits for $20bn of US weapons

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Andrew Feinberg

White House Correspondent

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Donald Trump has criticised Taiwan for not doing enough to defend itself in the face of Chinese aggression, calling on the island to dramatically boost its defence spending to 10 per cent of GDP.

The Republican presidential candidate told the Washington Post that Taiwan “should spend 10” per cent of its national gross domestic product (GDP) on defence after being told that the island is already committing 2.6 per cent of its national income. The US spent 3.5 per cent of its GDP in 2023.

European lawmakers from a pro-Taiwan group expressed concern about the remarks, and pointed to the fact that Taiwan is already waiting on some $20bn in orders of military equipment from the US.

“I hope president Trump is aware of the fact that there is a $20bn (£15bn) backlog in arms deliveries from the US to Taiwan, which Taiwan has already paid for. Successive Taiwanese leaders have made commitments on defence which far outstrip those of most of the rest of the world – 2.9 per cent of GDP," Reinhard Bütikofer, former German member of European parliament, told The Independent.

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Taiwan’s defence budget already surpasses a requirement for Nato member states to spend a minimum of 2 per cent of GDP. In the next year it will increase by almost 8 per cent on existing levels with the acquisition of more fighter jets and missiles.

China claims Taiwan as part of its territory and has vowed to take control of the democratically-governed island by force if necessary. The Xi Jinping administration has ramped up military and political pressure on Taiwan by carrying out near-daily flights across the Taiwan Strait, amid rising tensions in the region.

The Pentagon believes Mr Xi has ordered his military to be ready to invade Taiwan by 2027, and Beijing has already carried out mock invasion drills around the island.

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“Unnecessary bluster and unrealistic demands on Taiwan don’t help pushing back against Beijing’s aggressive expansionism. They rather encourage the PRC’s People’s Republic of China] hope that the US and the rest of the free world might at some point in the future blame Taiwan for the PRC predicament they are in and throw them under the bus,” said Mr Bütikofer, who is also a vice-chair of the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China’s (IPAC) alumni council.

The IPAC is a grouping of lawmakers from democracies around the world who share a focus on and concern about China affairs.

The US does not recognise Taiwan as a country but is bound by US laws to come to the nation’s aid in the event of an attack, and to provide it with the means to defend itself. Just last week, Joe Biden approved $567m in new defence assistance for Taiwan. But the Democrat’s term is coming to an end and Mr Trump has indicated that he would be reluctant to spend money on supporting Taiwan if he enters the White House

“We already knew of Mr Trump’s reluctance to defend Ukraine. Now we understand that he is also very reluctant to defend Taiwan, which, he says, is closer to the Chinese interests than to the American ones," said Bernard Guetta, a French Member of the European Parliament (MEP).

“As a European attached to freedom and civil liberties, I am decidedly afraid of seeing Mr Trump back in the White House,” the IPAC EU co-chair told The Independent.

In July, Mr Trump had said Taiwan should pay the US as “we are no different than an insurance company”.

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Mr Bütikofer warned that Mr Trump’s approach was dangerous not only for Taiwan’s future. “Only reliability in deterrence and full solidarity with Taiwan may avoid a conflict that, according to Bloomberg, would cost the global economy five times more than Putin’s illegal invasion of Ukraine,” he said.