Why Does Taiwan Spend So Little on Its Military? - VisualPolitik EN
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Taiwan is increasingly facing threats from China. Despite this, its armed forces are far from being prepared to repel an invasion. In recent decades, they have not been a priority. Why? We explain it in this video.
#Taiwan #China #Military
i''m an Israeli,and pro American...BUT don't leave your security in the hands of others.
TW’s nuke weapon develepment was banned serveral times by US from 1969-1982. That is why US has been doing to many countries that buy US weaponry. Taiwan is the only pitiful political entity in first island chain that has no US military base.
@@user-jn1le9jz3hUS troops have moved their recently.
🍉🍉🍉🍉🍉🍉🍉🍉🍉🍉
@@user-jn1le9jz3h it is true that Taiwan's nuclear weapons development was significantly influenced and ultimately halted by the United States. Here is a brief overview of the situation:
Nuclear Weapons Development Ban: Taiwan's efforts to develop nuclear weapons were indeed opposed by the United States from the late 1960s through the early 1980s. The United States pressured Taiwan to abandon its nuclear weapons program, leading to Taiwan's compliance.
US Policy on Weapons Sales: The United States has a history of influencing the defense policies of countries that purchase its weaponry. This influence often includes imposing restrictions to prevent the proliferation of nuclear weapons.
US Military Bases: Taiwan does not host a permanent US military base. The United States maintains a strong unofficial defense relationship with Taiwan, providing arms sales and conducting joint military exercises, but there are no permanent US bases on the island. This is partly due to the delicate political situation with China, which views Taiwan as a part of its territory.
@@user-jn1le9jz3h US would not want to have all out war with china and same goes to china .
The best strategy china can do is be genuine and nice. Because for example, Taiwan is seeing what will happen to them if they reunite with China in Hong Kong. Not too attractive eh
While Biden & US invested billions to create factory in US main land., I doubt Taiwan will go all out on it. The chips are their main deterrence point, even china would not touch the factory. But US said that if it comes to worse they are going destroy the fab.
Taiwan's semiconductor industry is deeply integrated into global tech supply chains, which creates a natural deterrent against China's invasion. Any conflict that disrupts Taiwan's semiconductor production would harm economies worldwide, which in turn would lead to international backlash and economic sanctions against China. This is known as their "Silicon Shield" strategy. Because Taiwan is so vital to the tech industry, many countries, including the U.S., Japan, and several European nations, have a vested interest in Taiwan's security. These countries will continue to provide security assurances to Taiwan, acting as a deterrent to China's invasion. They want to maintain a stable supply chain and avoid any disruptions that could affect their economies. Taiwan's semiconductors aren't just economically important; they're also critical for cost-effective military technology. Taiwan’s ability to produce high-tech components enhances its military capabilities cost-effectively, making it less reliant on other countries.
If one day Samsung or Intel caught up to TSMC then what? If one day silicon based semiconductor is obsolete then what?
@@billsze3947 Taiwan currently makes 65% of chips supply to the world, and 90% of the advanced chips. The current "secret sauce" is so unique to Taiwan, it's hard to replicate. Nevertheless, with regards to your scenarios, i'm sure they have already pre-empted this possibility. I can think of long-term strategies like "organized abandonment" of the near-obsolete ones and shift focus to invest heavily in the development of next-generation technologies, such as quantum computing, photonics, and advanced materials. This involves funding research institutions, supporting startups, and incentivizing private sector R&D. Form partnerships with South Korea (Samsung) and US (Intel) to create international semiconductor supply chain agreements. This could involve collaborative R&D initiatives and joint investment in new capabilities. Continuously monitor supply chain vulnerabilities and assess Taiwan's national resilience strategies regularly. Ensure policies are flexible and can quickly adapt to changes in technology and geopolitical situations. This involves proactive planning and regular updates to strategies.
@@billsze3947Continuously monitor supply chain vulnerabilities and periodic assessments of national resilience strategies. "Organized abandonment" of near-obsolete product/processes. Invest heavily in the development of next-generation technologies, such as quantum computing, photonics, and advanced materials.
@@billsze3947 Continuously monitor supply chain vulnerabilities and periodic assessments of national resilience strategies. Gradually phase out near-obsolete products/processes. Invest heavily in the development of next-generation technologies, such as quantum computing, photonics, and advanced materials. Adapt to evolving geopolitical dynamics, technological advancements, and market conditions.
Continuously monitor supply chain vulnerabilities and periodic assessments of national resilience strategies. Gradually phase out near-obsolete products/processes. Invest heavily in the development of next-generation technologies, such as quantum computing, photonics, and advanced materials. Adapt to evolving geopolitical dynamics, technological advancements, and market conditions.
KMT leans toward China. KMT was the nationalist coming to Taiwan after being defeated in the mainland by the communist. The party prefers eventual unification with China even though the CCP was its enemy. KMT is a minor party now in Taiwan, but can still often work againt the governing party DPP on military buget, defense acquisition, military draft policy, etc. It is a problem of Taiwanese defense and foreign polocies, unfortunately.
Misleading. Google “wikileaks Taiwan” to know now minority (40% of votes) ruling party DPP’s politicians have been using anti-China and fake independence (which US does not grant) as apparatuss for election purposes (Taiwan’s Netanyahu?). The most powerful faction of the DPP - New Trend (which William Lai belongs) -- had established a secret communication channel with the CCP as early as 1997, before the first president of the DPP, Chen Shui-bian did, who was put to prison after he stepped down with the help of corruption evidence US provided (owning undeclared real estate in New York City with his wife taking bribes, claiming to be funds for TW independence).
Misleading. Google “wikileaks Taiwan” to know now minority (40% of votes) ruling party DPP’s politicians have been using anti-China and fake independence (which US does not grant) as apparatuss for election purposes (Taiwan’s Netanyahu?). The most powerful faction of the DPP - New Trend (which William Lai belongs) -- had established a secret communication channel with the CCP as early as 1997, before the first president of the DPP, Chen Shui-bian did, who was put to prison after he stepped down with the help of corruption evidence US provided (owning undeclared real estate in New York City with his wife taking bribes, claiming to be funds for TW independence).
I remember both KMT & mainland China's CCP favour reunification, but I don't think they agree on who should be the one ruling a reunified territory
The KMT are pro-China in terms of nationalism and maintaining cultural and economic ties. However, they do not want to unify with the PRC under CCP leadership.
@@lzh4950Nor will they ever agree. And I don’t think either side would trust the other. CCP wants to get rid of the KMT so that they can officially declare a symbolic victory in the Chinese Civil War. The KMT should know this and that the CCP cannot be taken at its word.
Defense is lot cheaper. And ultimately Taiwan is really hyper specific on threat it faces. And there's also giant moat called sea, which actually limits invasion to only few times year due to weather. On other hand, eastern Europe has a lot harder task, Russian can pretty easily just roll down flatland to their territory. At least in comparison, it's obviously not easy as we have seen.
Hopefully, Taiwan is looking at setting up a serious drone force. Trying to perform an amphibious landing is bad enough under the best circumstances, but doing it under a hail of precision-targeted drones would make it hell.
You are talking nonsense. If you do not have anything factual to say, do not speak.
@@OsamaBinKevo drones don't have infinite battery power, they can only go as close as ships and jets go, so in the end it's about anti-sea and anti-air capability
If Taiwan minority party DPP could be less corrupted with money flowing into the party's pocket.
US previously tried to forcefully snatch TSMC technology, but later found that it could not move hundreds of upstream and downstream manufacturers involved to US. It has only been in the past six months that it has begun to change its strategy and increase its investment and defense in Taiwan. But estalishing a US military base in this pitiful political entity in first island chain w/o US military base would be better. TW would be more than happy to pay for the cost.
They, like the Israelis and South Koreans, should have developed their own defense industry. They have the chips to produce high tech weapons and could have been exporters of arms.
South Korea has developed their own military complex (weapons makers and manufacturers INCLUDING armor and ballistics.)
How could Taiwan have become an arms exporter? Israeli and South Korean defense industries developed from industries used to maintain US weapons and equipment. Taiwan also wasn't a priority for U.S. equipment because their rival was China, a predominantly infantry-based military, across the strait. Meanwhile, the U.S. had a slew of wars in Korea, Vietnam, and the middle east to funnel equipment into; giving those countries plenty of practice on how to make and replace vital military components until they could make their own.
Perhaps but it's not entirely fair to compare Taiwan to Israel which has received vast amounts of aid from the United States over the decades and likely vast amounts of aid from people abroad who support Israel.
It's also not entirely fair to compare Taiwan to South Korea which has benefited from having a sizeable force of American troops on its territory for decades thus easing the burden on South Korea to be ready to defend itself.
Isreal and South Koreans most of the time can reliably get licenses of military technology
and buy subsystems/parts from multiple sources
so they can get a quick start, get into globle military supply chain to support further development, then built domestic design on those parts and experience
However Taiwan fail to get most of the licenses and parts due to China's pressure
Even non lethal licenses too, Taiwan even fail to get military graded heavy duty truck, Isreal and USA in the past stop supplying missile parts (US only resume limited number of supply recently due to policy change and TW manage to develop domestic part)
France refuse to sell VLS for the ship they selled after china's pressure
So unlike South Korean can start with building M109 under license, put German licensed engine, cannon and US licensed subsystem into their domestic K9 SPG
If Taiwn wants to build a new domestic SPG, have to develop a lot of things from scratch, including engine, cannon, suspension, subsystem, production line......
or use commercial available parts (most of the time not good enough)
The cost will be much larger and there isn't any hope of exporting those products (again due too china's pressure), so Taiwan have to put in most of the resource into developing domestic aniti-air missiles and anti-ship missiles
@@ancova1183 Yes and no. Taiwan was the top priority for many years. Taiwan was the first country that received the then state of the art sidewinder missiles. The US did not arm Israel until after the Six Day War. When Taiwan was richer than South Korea, South Korea invested in heavy industry but Taiwan did not. In other words Taiwan had its chance but blew it. Now it has make do with 50 year old equipment.
They do commit their fair share if you consider the amount of labor lost in the economy due to mandatory conscription.
That’s hundreds of thousands of young men every year spending a year of their lives making subpar wages, not being used to their full economic potential, and decreasing the birth rate in a country with rapidly aging demographics. That’s worth at least dozens to a hundred billion dollars of implicit cost already
So what? Singapore has 100% conscription. Any problem? As usual, other countries not doing it right. Europeans just love bellyaching over everything.
I don’t think that is correct. Singapore as universal conscription also and spend a lot more on defense especially when it comes to gdp per capita
Why is the Taiwan you have in mind so different from the Taiwan I live in?🤣
@@woontew9157 i said that too but got deleted.
@@woontew9157 that just mean Singapore is spending a lot more implicitly than what is directly stated as well. My main issue is that the video’s message may come across wrongly to rhetoric that some allies aren’t spending enough and should thus be abandoned.
The arguments of the video (not that there are many) are weak and repeated. The whole video could be 5 minutes. The most important graph shows until 2020 and misleading. Take this as constructive criticism please.
Taiwan cannot solely depend on its own defenses but must also rely on American support. Taiwan's security over the past seventy years has been heavily dependent on the United States. But the reliability of the United States is less about American commitments and more about the Taiwan's own determination.
The Afghans, for instance, questioned American reliability, but without strong local leadership and resistance, American support alone cannot ensure stability.
Ukraine provides a contrasting example. Its steadfast leadership and national resolve have made it a reliable ally of the United States. Similarly, Israel's unwavering commitment to its own defense has solidified its relationship with America. Therefore, America's reliability is contingent on the resolve and leadership of its allies.
For Taiwan, this means that the commitment to defense and national integrity must come from within. If Taiwan's leaders and citizens lack this resolve, no amount of support from the United States will suffice.
Three mistaken beliefs that harm Taiwan's national security: doubting the United States (疑美論), viewing Taiwan as just a pawn in big power games (炮灰論), and misunderstanding Taiwanese independence (台獨論). Each of these ideas creates unnecessary fear, confusion, and weakens Taiwan's position.
1. Doubting the United States (疑美論)
This mistaken belief involves a widespread distrust of the United States as a reliable ally and defender of Taiwan. Some people argue that the U.S. might not defend Taiwan if China attacks, pointing to times when U.S. policies seemed inconsistent. This doubt weakens Taiwanese confidence in U.S. security promises. In fact, there is a strong historical and ongoing U.S. support for Taiwan. The Taiwan Relations Act, continuous arms sales, and joint military exercises show the U.S.'s deep commitment. Doubting the U.S. often shows a lack of confidence within Taiwan itself. U.S. support is stronger when Taiwan shows its own determination to defend itself, similar to how countries like Ukraine and Israel maintain strong U.S. support by being resilient and committed to their own defense.
2. Viewing Taiwan as a Pawn (炮灰論)
This mistaken belief sees Taiwan as just a piece in the larger strategic game between the U.S. and China, implying that Taiwan's fate depends on the interests of these bigger powers. This perspective can make people in Taiwan feel powerless and discourage proactive defense efforts. In fact, Taiwan is not just a pawn but an important partner with its own strategic importance. The extensive political, economic, and military cooperation between Taiwan and the U.S. shows that Taiwan's security and prosperity are crucial to both regional and global stability.
3. Misunderstanding Taiwanese Independence (台獨論)
The third mistaken belief involves the talk about Taiwanese independence. The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) often uses the idea of "Taiwanese independence" to justify aggressive actions against Taiwan. They claim any move by Taiwan towards more international recognition is a push for independence, giving them a reason for military or diplomatic actions. This is a deliberate misrepresentation. Taiwan's political status has been separate from China since 1949, and its democratic development since the 1990s strengthens its distinct identity. The CCP's portrayal of Taiwanese independence is often a tactic to delegitimize Taiwan's self-governance and international participation.
being realistic is not mistaken. The mistake is to stubbornly walk toward an independence war while hoping US will save it. Actually that's the not biggest mistake, the biggest mistake is that believe your way is the ONLY way and all other ways are mistakes and then call those who believe the other ways pro-China "traitors"
@@prastagus3 I see the C,C.P let you out of your cell early today
@@Dhdh365 a typical troll reply trying to provoke some kind of emotional response but failed
West Taiwan.. man they hate when you say that.
Like saying communist chins.
As Chinese, I can't wait to be reunited with my lovely brothers from across the strait. We miss yall :) 2027 baby, see yall soon.
and i love saying it 😎
@@jacklantern7505communist chinos
@@jacobl5488are you american or chinese? Because in other comments on another video, i found you said as american, let's stop giving these guys money. So stop pretending to be other else. Just be american.
As a taiwanese, I think a big part of why military spending proportion-wise is so low is because well 1) Taiwan's GPA is growing rapidly and the government just haven't raise the spending as fast as it is growing. 2) The expectation that the US will help when it actually get invaded. 3) If China do attack and the US did not help, Taiwan woulda fall anyway whether it arm itself or not thus it woulda been better to spend that money to help people to live a better live. 4) Finally, While people said they want the government to spend more on military, people even more so want the government to spend money on them thus those that spend money on the constituency get elected.
No. 3 totally nails it. If US step in and declared war on China to defend Taiwan, it will be a Sino-US war easily to escalted to WW3 and Taiwan's military might and spending is almost irrelevant. If US stay out and not intervine even Taiwan spending all it's GDP that can be spared it won't be enough to defend against China's military might due to the size. So either way Taiwan will gain no additional benefit from spending too much on military budget and Taiwanese is too smart to not realise that. Simple game theory which don't need a whole video to be explained.
Why should anybody help Taiwan if people are not prepared to pay more for their defense. I support Ukraine 100% because it is clear they really do not want to be occupied by Russia.
@@maritaschweizer1117 Yeah, but why would an average Taiwanese want to die for a politician. So they become communist China and it sucks cuz they don't have the right for vote for some silly clown or actor, but plenty of Taiwanese already work in Shanghai and life goes on as usual. Is it worth dying for the right to vote between Trump or Biden? What difference does it even make to the average folk. Let the people who actually benefit fight for it.
@@maritaschweizer1117I think it’s clear that Taiwan doesn’t want to be part of the PRC.
@@maritaschweizer1117 The US military is 70 times larger than the Taiwanese. So even doubling military spending would not make a dent in the real-world conflict. Plus double the spending would be unprecedented in a modern world unless you are the US, which gains economically from their military. Imagine what else you could use that money on? Their best option is improving relations with the US. Furthermore, Ukraine has survived because of support from the West, so that really proves that the safest bet.
Mainland Taiwan needs to chill out on island Taiwan.
they been chill out for the last 70yrs not a single shoot fire , all this is start recently by the US.
The reunification of China is near
@@jetli740lol, last time fired where shot was in 1996
nah
@@jetli740 cool story. I’d like a lunch #12
😂The failsafe of the people that make the computer chip, is having a button when pushed thats makes your toaster strangle you! And just like that, you're toast!😅😅😅
The brave lil toaster
The key to Taiwan's defense depends on their national identity and the commitment of the people and the army to resist China at all costs. Ukraine is proving this today, though admittedly with the latest Western weapon systems to support them, but Vietnam managed to defeat the U.S. military with a fraction of the hardware and trained personnel arrayed against it. If the Taiwanese people fight with that level of intensity and sacrifice, they could beat China in a grueling war of attrition, if not then is doesn't matter how much hardware they purchase or build.
Nice episode. Taiwan needs more indigenous arm production to meet our challenges, which is something we are already working on. Since we are talking about hypotheticals, I would love to watch an episode analyzing what happens to United States if Taiwan is taken over by China, whether by force or through peaceful means. In my opinion, that scenario would be the start of a cascade for US to lose Pacific. Philippines could be the next, followed by Korea and Japan.
IMO, Taiwan's identity is the main issue here: Taiwanese still see themselves as Chinese since many of them have roots back in China.
There's less incentive for "Chinese to fight against Chinese" so to speak.
Till the Taiwanese identity has evolved to the same level that Ukraine has evolved away from Russia, this lackadaisical attitude will prevent the Taiwanese from being wholeheartedly devoted to a spirit of national defense.
The US probably also knows about this. That might also explain the delays in shipping weapons to Taiwan.
China is using the strategy of boiling the frog gradually and hoping Taiwan will just give up and acquiesce.
Lower military spending simply means employing "asymmetric warfare" - using cheaper but smarter tactics to fight against China. For example, Taiwan could use underwater drones and unmanned boats armed with explosives to scare off Chinese attacks. These drones can find and attack Chinese submarines and ships without risking the lives of Taiwanese soldiers. These technologies are cheap, deadly, and they work well. That means Taiwan can build a strong defense without spending too much money.
Maybe Taiwan/the ROC also has managed to dig bunkers & underground bases inside its many mountains & conceal anti-ship & AA missile/rocket batteries there
Their military only needs to be strong enough to make the damage not worth it for the PRC to try...
You wouldn't know it from western media but the two usually have ok relations too....
🗣️i like how you present and explain why things are going the way they are and how things are going that led up to it with more to come, it help peoples with slight disability to understand and wrapped their head around it, i thank you and encourage you to keep up the great work.👍
Very detailed and well presented!
China doesn’t have a chance to get across the strait.
We are talking about China being the enemy, and that is the opponent the least you want to compete with the NUMBERS game. Even if Taiwan spend 20% of its GDP on military, it’s still very unlikely to win against China 1 on 1. So it’s very reasonable for Taiwan to dedicate its resources towards guaranteeing international support, either in the form of diplomatic or economic means. By establishing a solid position rooted in the global economy and maintaining friendly relationships with other democratic countries, it assures that other countries better help prevent the war and maintain power balance across the Taiwan Strait (in current situation, it means side with Taiwan.)
The military capabilities of Taiwan need to only support itself to give the world enough reaction time to apply military actions or sanctions, then try to turn the tide with outside forces. To be honest, there are not many countries that can single-handedly fight China 1 on 1 militarily simply due to its size.
The US has to step in, because TSMC is the basis of all the big tech in the US.
No
@@shafsteryellow yes!
@@shafsteryellow No to the the US has to step in or that TSMC is critical to our tech firms?
@@tylernorby4939 the US has no legal right to step in.
@@tylernorby4939TSMC can be replaced. They are very good and cheap but nonetheless can be replaced with enough effort and money.
7:50 this is misleading. We don't need to declare independence from something we've never been a part of. We're already independent as the ROC.
Why does this content only really seem to start at 6:30 ?
The current administration has prioritized spending on infrastructure, especially for green energy. However, they've opted to close down all nuclear reactors, leading to power outages. There are concerns that politicians are misusing funds, channeling large sums into solar panels and wind turbines as a way to funnel money back into their own pockets.
Let’s see!
I want to see josh with a different shirt
I would argue that the amount spent on defense should not only count the Military spending. In a free and open democracy, free speech is a double-edged sward, PRC knows that very well. On the Internet and in the media, there has always been an ongoing war(I do think war is an adequate term to use) in terms of swaying the direction of the people's opinions. If you count all the efforts the general public put in in fighting against such "attacks," the amount of GDP spent in defense would be much higher. PRC prefers to buy Taiwan than taking by force, if PRC can utilize information warfare to sway the opinion their way, that's what they will do, and that's where Taiwan need to put effort in defending itself.
Also, as I look into different industries, the development of Taiwan's economy appears to have been built in a way that forces other like-minded democracies to help in the event of any trouble. There is a saying "Democracy doesn't put food on the table," which I feel is part of the reason why Taiwan is developing in the way it is. Since so many democracies have capitalistic economies, money speaks louder than ideology(sadly.) To ensure like-minded democracies will come to aid, putting a higher amount of GDP into creating such economic dependencies is a reasonable defense strategy. (US-China trade war also emphasizes why this is important IMHO) In terms of raw military power, PRC's simply too large for Taiwan to justify putting all spending into just military, it has to get creative.
In recent months, it would seem PRC has gone all out on destabilizing Taiwan from within, the chaos on the Internet/media has never been so bad from my experience.(maybe I'm just getting deeper into the topic, I don't know)
Side note, Taiwanese people do seem to be more aware of information warfare in general compared to western countries such as the US. (opinion, not fact)
South Korea has a land border with North Korea. Taiwan is separated by an ocean. Of course the South Koreans will spend more on defense because it is more vulnerable.
unmanned hellscape
Taiwan's gdp is bloated due to tsmc. Her military spending is 3 percent.
If i must add one thing, is if the constraints come from Taiwan not being a country, why not taiwan just announce its independence?
So little? How much is enough?
Whaaat? $20B Taiwan budget to buy weapon from US is not spending enough for defense? US must really be in dire need of money!!!💰🇺🇲💰
Taiwan should invest in Singapore Light Howitzers
He gets the strategic ambiguity wrong. Strategic ambiguity only stated that DPRC is China ROC is china. Taiwan belong to China but which China. Wrong information. 😂
Everyone gets it wrong. China belong to Taiwan.
China cannot stand alone without international companies thats why they are hesitant to pursue war in taiwan unlike rusian they are depended exporter of oil... China had alot of industries invested by international business... If sanctions happens from international businesses ichina gets hurt..
04:19 This inference is incorrect, Taiwan's military expenditure has actually been increasing, the decrease in the proportion of GDP is due to the overall increase in GDP. Especially after 2021, the increased amount is even higher. The amount in 2024 is almost double that of 2011.
Spend on defence or spend on feeding the US military industrial complexes ? Can the MIC come out of something value for money to encourage spending? They are fleecing off even from the US army, how much more the rest of the countries?
Its an island nation, its pretty hard to invade, think of it like Switzland but with a moat
your mindset is ww2, modern warfare you dont need to send troop in first, missile,drone, take air superiority. troop enter when most of military is destroy. Taiwan is not ukraine no more re-supplied once war started.
Some of this feels dated given the rising enmity between the West and China and China's financial issues. Still, the point is that Taiwan isn't carrying their own water.
Quite a few members of the Fifty Cent army are making a living off your clip.
Thank you, Josh
I am a Taiwanese subscriber. While I knew you mentioned the reasons why Taiwan is still reluctant to increase military budget. I really feel ashamed.
Not only the opposite party has interconnected with Beijing but also most Taiwanese don’t realize the urgency of defense budget.
As a Taiwanese, I totally agree US-Taiwan relationship. But Taiwan can’t merely be dependent on US’s commitment without any preparation.
I am also Taiwanese, and I must tell you that the interpretation of the information in this video is completely incorrect.
Taiwan's military spending has actually increased significantly, but because Taiwan's GDP has also been continuously rising, the proportion has actually decreased.
It's not just about military spending in relation to GDP or per capita. Taiwan is very aware that it cannot rival China militarily. Consequently, there is an increasing focus on asymmetric warfare to maximize the efficiency of defence spending. Furthermore, Taiwan's defence is very political. Domestic political opinion favouring continued de facto independence is crucial to resisting a hypothetical Chinese attack. Finally, Taiwan should enhance deterrence by building strong military cooperation with friendly countries such as the US and Japan. The absence of diplomatic relations between Taiwan and the US should not preclude US military presence or visits on Taiwanese soil and/or a mutual defence agreement (or unilateral US legal commitment), especially if Chinese military intimidation justifies it. It is in the US' and other democratic countries' interest for "Taiwan to remain Taiwan". Of course China would protest but it the only one to blame for its expantionist ambitions.
Taiwan doesn't need official diplomatic relations to the US since Taiwan is very important for the US in the first place. US switched to PRC/China from ROC/Taiwan at the end of the '70s (and the world plus UN followed) but it kept Taiwan close since it's important to contain China from the eastern side/Pacific as part of the 1st island chain (from Japan to north of Borneo).
The main obstacle to Taiwan forming alliances with like minded countries is China's interference. China has been able to build economic dependencies by cheap exports. But increasingly the world is realizing the cheap imports come at the expense of their own industries, so the trend of decoupling from China is gaining momentum. Once the world is no longer addicted to cheap Chinese imports, they will be free from coercion to deny Taiwan's existence.
@@hitthedeck4115 I agree. Even if it was possible, I'm not convinced that establishing US-Taiwan diplomatic relations would be in anyone's interest (even Taiwan's) as long as Taiwan claims to be the Republic of China. It could give legitimacy to the ROC title and hinder Taiwan's path toward normalisation. A strong committed unofficial relationship is most needed at present.
I assume there are already huge deep underground compounds to house the population.
No, everything is about military expenditure as a percentage of GDP. And asymmetric warfare cannot protect a country. Efficiency? Is it really the time for Taiwan to be concerned with efficiency? Overall, Taiwan is too naive. What use is the help of neighboring countries if the Taiwanese people have no will to fight.
Taiwan should pull its weight.
Because our government is cheap .
And I don't think that will change anytime soon.
correction. Philippines
Most of Taiwanese still lack of identity of Taiwan. For example, I would not fight for country but I may fight for the freedom or democracy.
If there is a war between Taiwan and China, the island will be a battle. no winner, only destroyed land with helpless people. Of cause, spending higher military’s defense sounds good, at least scare someone? if communist party wants to take over Taiwan, there are thousands way. they don’t care the cost or they care don’t know. In my view, how to prevent war is more important rather than facing war.
We are not ready to arm ourself for the war. But kids do need to grow up without the US parent’s wing.
I think Taiwan should be ready for the worst case scenario in which they get limited or no support from the west. One thing they should do is turn Taiwan into a giant Gaza island.
One fact u conveniently left out is how majority of Taiwanese men run to other countries to evade military service as well.
........Are you sure?😅
Damn, I didn't know Taiwan was a majority female country.
Singapore is worried about this same scenario too, so you need to notify the gov't permission to be overseas for >6 months. Also as the population continues to grow despite a declining birth rate, due to immigration, next time there might also be less people to defend more people (e.g. I might have been the only one to be called for conscription in 1 of my school's clubs of 20+ people)
@@olsenfernandes3634 Man's paradise!!!!!!
@@lzh4950 they will allow the foreigners to join the army if there is an issue
It’s republic of China, not Taiwan. Get the history correct first.
yes ido
High spending is unnecessary, as long as it's targeted towards cost-effective defensive measures and asymmetric warfare tactics suited to Taiwan's geographical realities. Taiwan can effectively deter Chinese aggression at a fraction of the cost (for example, expensive submarines/warships) by investing in cheaper alternatives. Autonomous weapons offer a cost-effective way to enhance military capabilities without endangering human lives. Undersea drones, equipped with advanced detection and attack systems, can pose significant threats to Chinese submarines and ships. Unmanned surface vehicles, loaded with explosives, can neutralize large, expensive enemy warships without risking Taiwanese personnel. Anti-ship missiles, mines, and munitions turn the Taiwan Strait into an impregnable "boiling moat" that China would be insane to try and forcibly cross.
in drone warfare, mainland is miles ahead of everyone except US.
@9:12 WHAT THE HELL IS THAT NOISE?
The fact that u have to ask this question means u have no clue about both the historical and current situation in both China and the Island of Taiwan! please educate yourself before wasting people's time!
I am in Taiwan, and Visual Politics really did their homework. I agree on most of your points. I would like to list reasons of the dilemma and a mess in Taiwan’s own path of arming itself.
1. America is not going to sell anything we want.
2. There is almost no military supplier other than the US to supply Taiwan.
3. Even if Taiwan invested in defense technology, the odds of selling it abroad to recover the investment is bleak.
4. The top reasons hindering China from invading is first, the Taiwan strait, second, the semiconductor supply chain. Both of them are not there because of a high defense budget.
5. Even if we are committed to strengthening our military, there is still a dispute on how to achieve. Some people want to go full asymmetric, while others don’t. Some want to build indigenous defensive weapons, others question their capabilities and want to buy from the States, and the argument sways back when they find American reluctance to sell weapons stated in the first point.
1. The situation has changed a lot since the mid 2000s. America will sell high end capabilities to Taiwan now. They are selling F-16s again, drones, etc. I don't think anything is off the table anymore. The main fear of the US is that Taiwan will only invest in boutique capabilities without pursuing an asymetric defense like Lee Hsi-min has suggested. But if Taiwan spends enough, it can choose to do both.
Visual Politik always falls for Trump's bluffs hook, line, and sinker. His strategy is to play both sides. He tells allies to meet their defense agreements, or he might cut them off, and then he turns around and tells his enemies that he might just start an open war with them. It's the fact that everybody thinks he is volatile enough to do either that makes allies feel unsafe and enemies feel unsure. He might be a paper tiger, but nobody is willing to call his bluff. It certainly works better than letting your enemies think you won't do anything and your allies think you will, and then waiting till conflict has already broken out to provide military aid.
Wonder why visual politics every time fails on its very analysis from Ukraine to israel to taiwan .... poor boys 😂😂😂
Taiwan 🇹🇼 also call Republic of China started in 1900.
Current communist china 🇨🇳 is call People of Republic China started 1949.
Taiwan was already a sovereignty long before current China ( CCP ) just like South Korea. Taiwan just don’t want to get mainland China back, because it’s been long ago and it cost too much problems around the world. 🤣( this is one of the reason. )
Should definitely increase there military spending if not to just be able to slow down the China military until the USA if does choose to help can get there in numbers plus to out right Defend themselves I'd rather die than be a Commi
because every non DPP member in taiwan knew DDP only there to sux up all the money, they be the first to flee and enjoy the rest of their life with all the money they stole from the people.
their terrain protects Athenian China.
All wrong in my opinion. Think about it. The best scenario for Taiwan is status quo. If a war erupts, it will be levelled. The other option is surrender. Both are bad options. To maintain status quo, it needs to cut military spending. China shouldn’t be able to justify an attack saying Taiwan is a serious threat like Russia did. You can’t stick out as a threat. Great powers can’t have threats nearby (how many enemies does US have in the American continent? Zero). This is why Taiwan intentionally cuts down on military spending
The PRC will find a reason to invade Taiwan. If necessary, the Chinese military will have to come to “protect” the Chinese in Taiwan from Taiwanese Nazis. If there are no Taiwanese Nazis, Chinese propaganda will invent Taiwanese Nazis.
2.5% is not little and is above many countries. This is rising. The key to understand it is purely defensive and does not develop forces to send overseas like aircraft carriers, transport ships and aircraft etc.
However outnumbered by 1.4bn people to 23m some 40 to 1.
Its key to survive is garnering an ally in US.
Spending another 1% would make no differant
Taiwan needs to really build up its military.
Lai ching de name he doesn't know how to pronounce.. shame 😂😂😢😮
I'm all for wearing Hawaiian shirts, as a matter of fact, I have a couple dozen myself. But, why wear the same shirt every video?
Don't you have any other Hawaiian shirts??
😜😝😂
Taiwan with chip technology. USA protects it or lose superpower status.😂😂😂
How much money do you need for island defense? Being aggressive would make the situation worse too. That and their geography can do a lot of the heavy lifting
The answer is quite simple : Asymmetric warfare
If the strategy was not effective, we're already fallen long ago.
That -Te suffix of Lai Ching Te is correctly pronounced as "Duh " , as in Lai Ching Duh.
china exercise of encircling Taiwan is purely an exercise that do not fit to potential actual situation.😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂
Taiwan 🇹🇼 We are with you 🎉😊Any time, Anywhere,
"Taiwan Spend So Little on Its Military", but Taiwan's defense isn't just about the military-it involves the whole society working together against China's psychological/cognitive and cyber/information warfare. Another non-military deterrence is Taiwan's "Silicon Shield" strategy. Because Taiwan's semi-conductor supply is so vital to the tech industry, many countries, including the U.S., Japan, and several European nations, have a vested interest in Taiwan's security. These countries will continue to provide security assurances to Taiwan, acting as a deterrent to China's invasion. They want to maintain a stable supply chain and avoid any disruptions that could affect their economies.
this is why those other countries are divesting themselves from Taiwan, coercing TSMC to build more and more plants in their lands, not in Taiwan. It's called De-risking.
Defense is much cheaper than a offensive military capable of worldwide force projection. Besides, they've got the best militaries on the planet that will come to their defense if china gets a crazy streak.
They are too comfortable
So little???? Taiwan spend around 5% of its GDP on defense, while China spend only 1.3%.
👍👍
TL:DR, Taiwan can only buy from USA which doesn’t deliver anything….
Lolololol says who? You? Im pretty sure they dont want everyone knowing their deliveries. So re think a little
@@Porter92 Why would they care if adversaries knew shipments happened? It'd be better for deterence if adversaries knew a country had received top of the line equipment from the US. South Korea is becoming a better supplier of weapons than the US based on cost and time to deliver.
That’s an enlightening presentation. What is missing is consideration of kinship. Perhaps that’s because it isn’t a factor in Taiwan although sino simps trot it out regularly.
US could gain by selling more undelivered weapon to Taiwan (look at Ukraine, Saudi, Iszrael), taking over TSMC's advanced process foundry tech, and suppressing No. 2 that threatens No. 1. US messed up with Japan, EU (with downgraded EU financial ratings given by US investment consulting firms ) ,China and South Korea’s previous president the same way before.
Other countries are hesitant to sell arms to Taiwan due to the fear of retaliation from China
No matter how low Taiwan 🇹🇼 military spending is still America 🇺🇸 will defend her because of silicon chips which very important to US.
is like china will defend texas because of it oil?
does that make any sense to you?
Dated analysis. Both the US & EU are decoupling from China and planning to make their own chips. Beijing’s belligerence is forcing this change.
Your analysis is extremely naïve.
Is Taiwan still planning to import 100,000 Indian workers? Tens of millions of young Indians have been jobless for years, and desperately waiting for work.
7:52 "Taiwan" declared its independence (from the Qing Dynasty) back in 1912. Taiwan can't declare independence from the PRC because it already is.
Unless you want to get silly, and say something like "Germany should declare its independence from France."
... If this channel can't even get simple facts correct, like when a country was founded (and never disolved), what else do they get wrong?
But PRC was not and is not in a Chinese Civil War with Qing Dynasty, but with ROC who is ruling Taiwan today.
When you criticized someone is wrong on Fact, you better first get your own fact straight.
@@qingzhou9983 ""Taiwan" declared its independence (from the Qing Dynasty) back in 1912. Taiwan can't declare independence from the PRC because it already is.
Unless you want to get silly, and say something like "Germany should declare its independence from France."
... If this channel can't even get simple facts correct, like when a country was founded (and never disolved), what else do they get wrong?"
I never said that the PRC was part of military force that helped overthrow the Qing Dynasty.
What "Fact" (capital F is why I used quotation marks, because you type like Trump) did I get wrong?
@@brennencox516
What you said is useless because PRC was not and still is not fight a Chinese Civil War with Qing Dynasty. PRC has been in Chinese Civil War with ROC since 1945 and ROC is still ruling Taiwan today. So this, the Chinese Civil War, gives PRC the right to defeat ROC and unify Taiwan.
@@qingzhou9983 "PRC has been in Chinese Civil War with ROC since 1945"
The civil war was happening before 1945, but ok, that doesn't matter. Yes, the RoC and PRC have their civil war, true.
"and ROC is still ruling Taiwan today. So this, the Chinese Civil War, gives PRC the right to defeat ROC and unify Taiwan."
But doesn't that also, given the same logic, mean the RoC has the right to defeat the PRC/CCP to unify "China" under their rule?
@@brennencox516
You clearly do not know what happened in China during 1944 and 1945. That was not Chinese Civil War. So your point of Chia had Civil War before WW II is irrelevant to my point.
Of course ROC has the legal right to retake Mainland China due to the Chinese Civil War, while US does not have any legal right to take Mainland China (just for comparison here). But the ruling party of ROC gave up this Right themselves. But this act does not force PRC to give up its right to unify China. And PRC make it clear that it will continue pursue its unification goal and finish the Chinese Civil War.
❤🎉
The US themselves ask taiwanese to massively invest in their defense. Ive been to taiwan a few month ago. They are a bit stressed but not enough in my opinion. It remind me that story of that man falling off a cliff. Toward all his fall he is thinking : "till now, everything's fine... till now, everything's fine..."
There’s a massive amount of propaganda and money in Taiwan politics. The pro China party had blocked a lot of spending and recently has enacted a legislative coup
You are fooled by DPP's propaganda. DPP, the leading “anti-China” party, has been in power for 8+ years. They don't actually increase military spending when they are in power but only claim to care about it to gain nationalists' votes. They have their interests in China.
China also spent so little to their military, accounted only about 1.67% to their GDP.
Compare that to the US that spent over 3.5% of their GDP to the military.
China is outproducing usa in everything... specially crap and even f35 parts are made in china... 😅
They have shady accounting to hide additional spending
There’s some things they don’t include in the calculation, but still yes they spend much less. About 1.8-2.3% of gdp.
And you believe China’s reporting? The militias and internal security budget is at par with the PLA. Many dual use factories are not part of military budget.
USA is about 3.3%
Why should they? They know very well that they have no chance if a war breaks out
I think you put too much weight on money spent... almost like you are working for the Military Industrial Complex... Taiwanese are not dumb; Taiwan is the 12th freest country in the world according to Human freedom Index... I think they should allow their citizens to own guns... and have a Swiss style defense... But what they are doing seems to be working for them
Citizens own guns? In such a densely populated area? Even a single accidental discharge could cause multiple casualties.
Seriously, where did grant go?
People in the comments relentlessly bullied him over his teeth
🇵🇭🇵🇭🇵🇭🇵🇭🇵🇭🇵🇭🇵🇭
i would never fight against China
bow your head lower than their knees then 🤡
Anyone that’s pro-Taiwanese independence here in the US, I ask you this. “You enjoy fighting someone’s war over a chip?”
🎉First
Congratulations on your victory! Here's your participation trophy!!
🏆😂
The 'more military spending equals right-wing' and 'less military spending equals left-wing' argument doesn't stand up to history I'm afraid. Many of the most brutal military regimes of the last hundred years have been communist or outright socialist, which are both left-wing.
I think he is referring to left and right in democratic countries. It is generally true that centre right governments spend more on defence.
@@freeman10000 I was referring to democratic countries as well. You think the left are above military spending in democratic countries? The USSR held elections after Stalin's demise. Heck! Even the Nazis, who are nationalist socialists were elected to power by the German people. Military violence followed communism throughout Europe and the world in the early 20th century.
Does it actually matter? Even if they spend all of GDP on defence, 28 million ppl vs 1.4 billion, i think i know who wins...
Taiwan would win. You cannot conquer an island without boats
Tawian is a natural fortress. Its a mountainous island with very few beaches. On top of that, it has strong allies.
@@Skyhanger i see how your think they only use boat? no missile, drone, jet.....uhm ok
@@rocksmo3384 all the advantage you list can also hinder it help, an island is great for defend in the 19 century
21 century is a death trap, get surrounded with no help
@@jetli740 Luckily Taiwan has SK, Japan, the US, etc. as help.
One way to perhaps get around this is for Taiwan to invest heavily in off shore wind farms to make them more energy independent but also arm these to serve as "unsinkable ships".
That way they can benefit in peace time from having the wind farms but also get dual use from them as a way to further complicate any attempt by China to launch and amphibious invasion.
Also, Taiwan could invest heavily in making humanoid robots but also make these for dual use where they could be "drafted" into military service just as their human counterparts if then need ever arises.
BTW, I have made a number of videos on the later above and uploaded them to my TH-cam channel.
BTW, I just made a video on this and uploaded it to my TH-cam channel.
Taiwan is cheap because they depend on the US for their defense.
this chanel has become the mouthpiece of the military-industrial complex of the US.