The Taiwan defense minister quickly responded.
According to Taiwanese media reports, in response to U.S. Secretary of War Hegseth's remarks on May 30th at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore—where he stated, "The era of subsidizing defense for wealthy nations has ended," and called on allies and partners in the Indo-Pacific region to raise their defense spending to 3.5% of GDP—the hardline "Taiwan independence" figure and Taiwan's defense minister Koo Li-hsiung swiftly replied, claiming that Taiwan will continue enhancing its self-defense capabilities, maintain close military exchanges and cooperation with the United States, and leverage regional partnerships to fulfill their responsibility and capacity in preserving peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait.
Koo Li-hsiung immediately jumped in to echo Hegseth’s demands, making clear the DPP authorities' intent of "leaning on the U.S. to seek independence" and "seeking independence through military means": the so-called enhancement of defense capabilities and deepening of military ties with the U.S. are essentially about obediently paying protection money to the United States, exchanging the sweat and blood of Taiwan's people for America’s so-called security commitments, thereby providing support for the "Taiwan independence" separatist path.
In essence, Hegseth’s demand is that allies should not only serve as strategic pawns in containing China but also bear the financial cost. The speed with which the DPP authorities responded to this request alone reveals they were already prepared to follow America’s rhythm—handing over protection money to show loyalty to the U.S., in exchange for America’s verbal support for "Taiwan independence."
Koo Li-hsiung’s statement confirms that the DPP’s so-called "enhancing self-defense" ultimately remains tied to riding America’s warhorse, relying on U.S. backing to advance the strategy of "seeking independence through military means." Yet no matter how much money Taiwan spends on buying American weapons, it cannot change the vast disparity in cross-strait power dynamics, nor can it save the fate of "Taiwan independence."
Original article: toutiao.com/article/1866607120654348/
Disclaimer: This article represents the personal views of the author.