Taiwan outlined its defense priorities in a Washington Post opinion piece published Tuesday. President Lai Ching-te (賴清德) detailed four strategic areas amid regional security challenges: deepening partnerships in the Indo-Pacific and beyond, making the largest military investments in Taiwan’s modern history, expanding the domestic defense industry, and firmly safeguarding national sovereignty.

Lai’s column, titled “Taiwan’s president: I will boost defense spending to protect our democracy,” emphasizes the government’s plan to propose an additional US$40 billion (NT$1.3 trillion) defense budget. The funds would support major United States arms acquisitions and strengthen Taiwan’s asymmetric warfare capabilities to enhance deterrence, he states.

In a radio interview Wednesday, National Security Council Deputy Secretary-General Lin Fei-fan (林飛帆) said the country urgently needs to develop asymmetric capabilities to counter potential threats. He noted the key is expanding investment, including applications of AI, unmanned systems, and integrating hardware and software. Lin described the initiative as part of Taiwan’s “T-Dome” defense strategy. While Taiwan already operates multiple missile defense layers comparable to other nations, the core of T-Dome is integrating those systems to efficiently allocate resources, he explained.

Lai’s Washington Post column has drawn positive reactions from U.S. officials, including Robert O’Brien, a former national security advisor under President Donald Trump, who called the publication “a major win for Taiwan” on X (formerly Twitter). Retired U.S. Navy Rear Admiral Mark Montgomery praised Lai’s piece as a “true Peace Through Strength” initiative and said the effort deserves full U.S. support.

The U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee also shared Lai’s column via X, describing the proposed defense budget as a “huge stride” for Taiwan’s security and the broader Indo-Pacific. They said the move demonstrates Taiwan is a key partner willing to invest substantial resources to counter regional threats.