Taiwan Talks: Taiwan Debates Defense Budget Increase as US Warns of Rising China Threat

[G. Lailari]

Gave an interview on Taiwan Talks with Dr Shen Ming-shih and Host Ethan Liu.

You might find it interesting....

G-Man

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M3XyPpiVBDY&t

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Taiwan Debates Defense Budget Increase as US Warns of Rising China Threat | Taiwan Talks EP724

 #USChinaRelations #TaiwanUSRelations #XiJinping

What did US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping discuss on their November 24 phone call? A White House statement made no mention of Taiwan, while a Chinese readout quoted Xi as calling Taiwan’s return to China “integral” and Trump as saying the US “understood” the Chinese position. Meanwhile, a US official has warned that with China’s military capacity growing quickly, the US and Taiwan are “losing warning time.” To address these multiplying threats from Beijing — including the new Fujian aircraft carrier — Washington has called on Taipei to hike its military spending. In response, Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te released an op-ed in the Washington Post pledging a historic US$40 billion supplemental defense budget. How likely is a People’s Liberation Army (PLA) invasion by 2027? And how should Taipei allocate its budget to counter this threat? In this episode, we discuss the Trump-Xi phone call, China’s military capabilities and Taiwan’s budget.

*Recorded on November 26, 2025 at 11:00am Taiwan Standard Time

Host: Ethan Liu
Producer: Chinyeh Chiang

Our guests:
Guermantes Lailari
Institute for National Defense and Security Research (INDSR) Visiting Scholar
Retired US Air Force Foreign Area Officer

Shen Ming-shih
Institute for National Defense and Security Research (INDSR) Research Fellow

[G. Lailari]