Poll: 36% of Americans Don't Want the U.S. To Send Troops to Taiwan
A new poll shows the U.S. public is concerned about sending troops to Taiwan in the event of a war. Many say Taipei needs to do more, despite the government spending a record amount on defense.
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00:00Taiwan is set to spend roughly 20 billion U.S. dollars on its defense next year.
00:08That's the most in the country's history.
00:10But analysts from the U.S., the largest provider of military aid and weapons systems to Taiwan,
00:16says it needs to do more.
00:19By law, the U.S. is obligated to help Taiwan boost its defense as it faces the threat of
00:24invasion from China.
00:26But whether the U.S. would send its own troops to defend Taiwan is still a question.
00:31A new poll from conservative U.S. think tank Defense Priorities reveals that 37 percent
00:37of U.S. citizens think the U.S. should not come to Taiwan's aid in the event of a war.
00:42That's compared to 33 percent who are neutral and 30 percent who say the U.S. should send
00:48troops regardless of the consequences.
00:51The survey also shows that 66 percent of Americans think the U.S. should require Taiwan
00:56to invest more in its defense as a prerequisite for any commitment by the U.S. to defend the
01:01country.
01:02Most defense experts argue for Taiwan to develop an asymmetric strategy using smaller and cheaper
01:08weapons which they say is the best way to defend itself.
01:11And if you only have all of your money spent on a couple of jets and a couple of ships
01:16and some ground forces that aren't ready to really fight in the streets, then the Chinese
01:19can be able to take out Taiwan before the U.S. shows up.
01:22So the idea of asymmetry is if you're the weaker actor, buy large numbers of cheap things
01:28like drones and naval mines that are inexpensive and you can lose a lot of them and there'll
01:32still be enough of them to impose unacceptably high costs.
01:36But Taiwan's defense ministry has traditionally focused on larger, more expensive systems
01:42like fighter jets and tanks, which take up a large portion of the country's budget.
01:47But since that budget is limited, it likely can't afford to have both.
01:51It wants to have, you know, shiny platforms as well as the asymmetric weapons.
01:57And so if you want to have all of it and you're not going to make difficult tradeoffs, again,
02:01you're going to need to have a much larger budget.
02:03So you want to have it all, but the defense spending doesn't really allow you to have
02:08it all.
02:09And I think that that's a lot of the, you know, frustration or maybe bewilderment from
02:16some observers.
02:17With the increase in military spending, Taiwan is now looking to invest more in drones and
02:22missiles, which could be cheaper and potentially be made in Taiwan.
02:26A recent purchase of about a thousand drones from the U.S. shows that Taiwan is trying
02:31to break out of its traditional spending habits.
02:34Again, I think it all comes back to where can Taiwan really get the most bang for its
02:39buck, whether it's indigenous or acquired from the U.S.
02:44And what things are mobile and lethal and can operate in degraded conditions.
02:51Many observers agree that Taiwan's record defense spending is a step in the right direction.
02:56But given the threat Taiwan faces from China, there are still concerns there's more to do,
03:00not only spending more, but spending smarter.
03:04Devin Tsai in Hameokon for Taiwan Plus.