Elbridge Colby, who is one of the senior DoD officials who know asia relatively well, told Senate confirmation hearing
-- Taiwan needs to spend 10% of GDP on defense
-- Japan should spend 3%
-- Conflict with China is not necessary
“I’ve always said that Taiwan is very important to the United States. But as you said, it’s not an existential interest,” Colby said. “The core American interest is in denying China regional hegemony.”
Earlier in the hearing, Colby acknowledged that, “Losing Taiwan, Taiwan’s fall, would be a disaster for American interests.” But he said the U.S. military balance with China in the region has declined so drastically that a conflict with China risks decimating the American military.