Defense Minister Wellington Koo (顧立雄) stated Thursday that President Lai Ching-te's (賴清德) goal of raising defense spending to 3% of GDP has already garnered positive acknowledgment from the United States. This follows comments from U.S. Under Secretary of Defense for Policy nominee, Elbridge Colby, who suggested during a Senate confirmation hearing that Taiwan's defense budget should aim for 10% of its GDP.
Minister Koo emphasized that both Taiwan and the U.S. share a mutual objective of increasing Taiwan's defense budget to bolster its self-defense capabilities. He pointed out that peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region, along with maintaining the status quo, are core U.S. interests, which is why the U.S. hopes Taiwan will continue enhancing its defense capabilities.
The defense minister confirmed that current military planning will proceed based on President Lai's policy decision to allocate 3% of the GDP to defense. He added that the possible need for supplementary budget appropriations has not been dismissed to achieve these goals.