Currently, Taiwan has set an increase in its defense budget to 3.3% of its GDP for 2026, allocating $949.5 billion Taiwan dollars ($31.18 billion). U.S. President Donald Trump has demanded Taiwan raise its defense spending to as much as 10% of GDP, a proportion well above what the U.S. or any of its major allies spend.
Lai had previewed the announcement in an op-ed for The Washington Post on Wednesday, saying the special budget would be used to purchase arms from the U.S. He told reporters Wednesday, however, that the budget has nothing to do with the government’s tariff negotiations with the U.S.
Well… Taiwan is basically holding back the red tide, so…
What’s it like in the year 1957?
you say this like it’s a bad thing?
If anyone needed more proof that Taiwan is a glorified US military base, here it is lol.
It’s not even glorified, not long ago there was a scandal where US sold them faulty supplies and equipment. Given that US MIC scalp vassals even worse than their own military, those 40 billion will likely not give them very much.
True. But I don’t think they have much of a choice. Just a little guy caught between two bullies, China and the USA. Not sure which is better to side with for them. If they give up to China they basically lose their independence.
The ROC doesn’t want independence, they claim that the mainland belongs to them, essentially they share the same posture, there is one China, it’s just a difference of who rules. The bourgeoisie, or the proletariat.
They aren’t caught between anything. Taiwan is very much aligned with western imperial countries. It’s basically an island that all the wealthy capitalists ran away to after China imposed economic democracy. They love America and America loves them.
I think you’re thinking of Singapore (or Switzerland, or the UAE).
USA has something like 800 army bases located outside the USA. No other country has even 1 I believe. South Korea is another country that is essentially a US proxy state.
2·3 hours agoChina has a naval one in Djibouti.
I was talking about the wealthy capitalists
It’s basically an island that all the wealthy capitalists ran away to after China imposed economic democracy.
You mean they imposed economic dictatorship where capitalist own businesses and decide how they operate in autocratic manner. Economic democracy would be literally the opposite of capitalism where you have publicly owned industry and worker cooperatives where workers are able to exercise democratic control.
My bad. I see what you mean now.
I think I see what you mean about Taiwan as a proxy state for the US.
I don’t think they see themselves as that, but they do basically owe their continued independence from China to the fact that the US values them as a pawn in the battle for global power.
They are not thinking of those places, but it is kind of helpful of you to point out other countries where the US empire has repeated the same strategy
US empire and wealthy capitalists aren’t the same thing, although their interests sometimes align.
All the billionaires in Taiwan are Taiwanese.
Wealthy capitalists, if they’re not based in the US, have moved to those places, not to Taiwan.
Genuinely, without snark, check out the term comprador
What if the USA backstab them like it did with Ukrqine under Trump?
