Ex-U.S. Army secretary praises Taiwan's pledge to raise defense spending

Taipei, June 11 (CNA) Former U.S. Secretary of the Army Christine Wormuth on Wednesday praised the Taiwan government's pledge to increase defense spending to 3 percent of GDP, saying it demonstrates their seriousness about self-defense.

Wormuth, who served as secretary of the Army from 2021 to early 2025 under former President Joe Biden, made the comments at a Taiwan-U.S. defense industry forum in Taipei.

In her opening address at the forum, she praised the Taiwan government for its recent pledge to raise its defense budget to at least 3 percent of GDP and for adopting a whole-of-society approach to self-defense in recent years.

She said these decisions are "substantial and significant" and also send an important message to Washington about "the seriousness with which the government here takes its responsibility to do what needs to be done."

In 2025, Taiwan's Cabinet earmarked NT$647 billion (US$19.7 billion) for defense spending, amounting to 2.45 percent of GDP. However, part of the budget was later cut or frozen by the opposition-controlled Legislature.

President Lai Ching-te (賴清德) later pledged to propose a special budget to raise defense spending to over 3 percent of GDP, though the plan would still require legislative approval.

Lai's pledge came against the backdrop of U.S. President Donald Trump raising questions about his support for Taiwan, having said on the campaign trail that Taiwan "stole our chip business" and needed to "pay us for defense."

He has also suggested that Taiwan should pay the U.S. for protection and proposed that it increase its defense spending to 10 percent of GDP.

Before becoming the first female U.S. Secretary of the Army, Wormuth had decades of experience working in the U.S. Department of Defense.

In her Wednesday address, she said that after working in Washington for decades, she has witnessed firsthand the strong bipartisan consensus -- shared by both Democrats and Republicans -- on the challenges posed by China "not just for Taiwan, but for the entire Indo-Pacific region."

Over the past 20 years, however, the U.S. military was "extremely preoccupied" with the situation in the Middle East.

During that time, China was able to modernize its military and engage in coercive behavior in the Indo-Pacific region, including frequently sending warships and warplanes into Taiwan's air defense identification zone.

She said that, in her opinion, the most important task for Taipei and Washington now is to do everything possible to strengthen their deterrence posture "so that on any given day, President Xi and the Chinese leadership will wake up knowing today is not the day that we want to try to change the status quo."

She was speaking at the 2025 Taiwan-U.S. Defense Industry Forum, co-hosted by the US-Taiwan Business Council, a nonprofit organization founded in 1976 to promote trade relations between the two countries, with a special focus on the defense sector.

Wednesday's speakers included Chris Decker, president of U.S.-based Planate Management Group, which has done extensive work for the Department of Defense; and Stayne Hoff, Asia-Pacific business development director at U.S. drone firm Red Cat Holdings.

The event was hosted by US-Taiwan Business Council President Rupert Hammond-Chambers.

According to the council, the event aimed to explore the potential for U.S.-Taiwan co-production and partnerships in drones and unmanned vehicles.