Japan and Taiwan must dramatically ramp up defense spending in order to deter war with China, U.S. President Donald Trump¡¯s nominee to be the Pentagon¡¯s top policy official has said, in a sign that Tokyo could be in for a bumpy ride under the American leader.
During a confirmation hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee on Tuesday, Elbridge Colby, a China hawk who served as a defense official in Trump¡¯s first administration, said Japan ¡ª which is aiming to spend 2% of gross domestic product on defense by fiscal 2027 ¡ª must boost its defense spending even further.
¡°Japan should be spending at least 3% of GDP on defense as soon as possible,¡± he said in a statement, adding that Tokyo needed to accelerate the revamp of its military in order to focus on so-called denial defense of its territory and collective defense in the Indo-Pacific region.
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