Former U.S. envoy William Stanton’s recent tough-love message to Taiwan reflects a long-standing concern in Washington over Taipei’s commitment and ability to defend itself in the event of a Chinese attack or invasion.
Stanton, who retired last summer after three years as America’s unofficial ambassador to Taiwan but chose to stay in the country, raised the subject of Taiwan’s military budget in a speech to the World Taiwanese Congress in Taipei last month. He emphasized that he was speaking for himself, not the U.S. government, but his words echoed similar American complaints going back a decade or more.
“I worry about Taiwan a great deal because I think the Taiwanese people do not worry enough,” Stanton said. His speech covered many aspects of contemporary Taiwanese life, including the future impact of its near-zero birth rate, but Stanton mostly concentrated on Taiwan’s steadily declining military expenditures.