Cabinet defense budget good for regional security contribution: Greene

Taipei, March 28 (CNA) The United States' representative to Taiwan reiterated his support for the NT$1.25 trillion (US$39 billion) special defense budget proposed by the Cabinet in a recent TV interview, saying it would help Taiwan adapt to modern warfare and contribute to regional security.

In an interview with TVBS that aired Saturday, American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) Director Raymond Greene said he perceived cross-party commitment to Taiwan's security, and he hopes Taiwan's Legislature will review defense budgets in the same spirit.

Commenting on the Cabinet's special defense budget, Greene said the United States believes it would provide Taiwan with "all of the capabilities we believe the Taiwan military needs to fulfill its role in deterring conflict across the Taiwan Strait."

Those include integrated air and missile defenses, distributed command and control, communications facilities, and anti-ship or anti-armor capabilities, Greene said.

Asked to comment on Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim's (蕭美琴) recent remark that the special budget, which includes drone production and other local initiatives, was the result of extensive consultations between Taipei and Washington, Greene confirmed Hsiao's statement.

The special budget was planned with "changing character of warfare" in mind -- for example the war in Ukraine, Greene said.

"The traditional focus on conventional forces is now -- not being replaced -- but being very much influenced by new technologies, especially unmanned and AI capabilities," hence the focus on these systems in the special budget, he said.

Asked what are the implications if the amount requested by the Cabinet fell short, Greene said he "wouldn't think so much in terms of specific numbers, but rather specific capabilities."

Under the U.S.' National Security Strategy, the U.S. seeks to deter conflict up and down the first island chain -- a series of islands that extend from Japan to Borneo -- and that the U.S. is working with all of its partners in the region to ensure they are making the right investments to help the U.S. achieve that objective, Greene said.

"I think nobody, any of our partners, wants to be the one party that causes other parties to have to adjust their posture," he said.

Therefore, he said, it is important for Taiwan to not only build a "physical deterrent effect" but also "symbolically showing its commitment to our joint efforts."