Amid escalating Middle-East conflict and expanding regional tensions, the Legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee member Chen Kuan-ting (陳冠廷) told Reuters in a recent interview that further escalation could disrupt U.S. military deployments, forcing assets intended for Asia to disperse, and weakening deterrence and security stability in the Indo-Pacific.

Chen expressed hope that the Middle East situation remains “limited, controllable, and free from spillover,” preventing the drawdown of U.S. security resources in Asia that could upset the strategic balance and regional order. He stressed that Indo-Pacific security should not be forced to “divert attention” due to other theaters of war, and should avoid creating exploitable strategic vacuums from any regional conflict.   

In a volatile external environment, Chen said, Taiwan must strengthen its own preparedness, particularly by preemptively expanding ammunition reserves and boosting domestic manufacturing to enhance sustained combat endurance and resilience, ensuring sufficient defense capacity across scenarios. He emphasized that elevating autonomous defense is essential to reducing miscalculations and securing peace. 

Chen noted that peace in the Taiwan Strait underpins the entire Indo-Pacific security framework and global supply chain stability, urging the international community to stay focused to prevent over-dispersion of strategic resources that could benefit authoritarian forces.