00:00I'm here at the American Institute in Taiwan, the U.S.'s de facto embassy here.
00:05Officials from this building are set to meet with the new head of Taiwan's main opposition,
00:09Kuomintang, Zheng Liwen. That's according to two sources who spoke to Taiwan Plus on condition
00:14of anonymity. This comes amid fierce debates between the KMT and the ruling Democratic
00:19Progressive Party over how much to spend on Taiwan's defense. Taiwan is reviewing a special
00:25defense budget that one DPP lawmaker says could reach as high as US$40 billion. Zheng openly
00:31opposes increasing defense spending and has been critical of U.S. calls for Taiwan to raise
00:36it to up to 10% of GDP.
00:38Responding to questions about the meeting, an AIT spokesperson told Taiwan Plus that the agency
00:58holds regular discussions with leaders from across the political spectrum in Taiwan. It said this is
01:03part of continuing efforts to strengthen the U.S.-Taiwan partnership. We also reached out to
01:08the KMT but did not receive a response. One expert says it's normal for U.S. officials to show concern
01:14over Taiwan's defense capabilities, especially as a key political figure pushes back against increased
01:20defense spending. But he says Washington's overall position on Taiwan remains unchanged.
01:25The direction of the U.S. policies are remaining the same. That is to strengthen the ties with the
01:33allies and also to strengthen the Indo-Pacific strategy.
01:37This won't be the first time that the AIT has met with KMT officials recently. In August,
01:43the Institute met with party lawmakers to discuss U.S.-Taiwan defense cooperation.
01:48The KMT posted afterwards on social media that it supports raising defense spending to 3.5% of GDP.
01:55Some say the meeting between the AIT and Zheng shows Washington's interest in
01:58and understanding the new KMT leaders' approach to Taiwan's defense. That's as the country looks
02:04ahead to next year's military projects. Patrick Chen and Ellen Lu in Taipei for Taiwan Plus.
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