Written by Brian Hioe. US PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP alarmed earlier this month after comments suggesting that he would decide whether to suspend arms sales to Taiwan after meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in April.
Category: Security
Beyond Politics: The Economic Logic Behind Taiwan’s Defence Budget
Written by Domingo I-Kwei Yang and Chan-Hsi Wang. This article argues that a new trend is emerging in Taiwan’s debate over defence spending, elevating the economic logic behind defence investment. It identifies the shift from fiscal burden to strategic investment, from buyer to co-production partner with the US and “peace through strength” as an economic strategy that fuses military readiness with an economic agenda.
The New NSS’s Contradictions Towards Taiwan
Written by Baosheng Guo. This article highlights four contradictions in the US’s 2025 National Security Strategy, including the tension between defending Taiwan and the Retrenchment strategy toward China, burden-sharing exceeding allies’ tolerance, aligning allies’ actions with US interests, and maintaining American soft power while abandoning Taiwan’s democratic values.
Bluff or Substantial Deterrence: The Purpose and Implications of China’s “Mission for Justice 2025” Exercise Against Taiwan
Written by Shen Ming Shih. This article describes that China’s late-2025 “Justice Mission” exercise around Taiwan functioned more as political signalling than as a credible rehearsal for war. Despite the expanded scale and proximity, the drills exposed operational constraints, ineffective cognitive warfare, and diminished deterrent value while further internationalising the Taiwan Strait and underscoring Taiwan’s readiness.
Taiwan’s $40 Billion Defence Pledge: Powder Keg or Firewall?
This article examines whether Taiwan’s record NT$1.25 trillion defence package in 2025 strengthens deterrence or unintentionally accelerates strategic and demographic risk. The piece argues that both major parties rely on the same unspoken assumption that the United States will intervene decisively. It proposes a viable third path that balances readiness with societal resilience.
US-Taiwan Relations 2025 Review and 2026 Outlook
Written by Chieh-Ting Yeh. This article reviews an eventful year of 2025 in Taiwan-US relations. Defence and trade continue to be the most important issues of the bilateral relationship under the Trump administration. It argues that the narrative surrounding it is fundamentally reactive and does not inspire hope or action. We need a more robust, imaginative, positive, optimistic, uplifting, inspiring, forward-looking, and hopeful narrative for US-Taiwan relations.