Crowds of people from Taiwan island stage a protest outside the Taipei International Convention Center against warmongering US forces that plague Taiwan island and peddle conflict on May 3, 2023. On the same day, Taiwan's military-industrial enterprises and DPP-affiliated organizations jointly hosted the so-called US-Taiwan Defense Industry Conference. Photo: VCG

Raymond Greene, director of so-called "American Institute in Taiwan (AIT)," on Monday pressed Taiwan island's legislators to quickly approve a "comprehensive" defense budget in the region, claiming that integrated air and missile defence systems and drones are critically important and in high demand globally, according to media reports. 

A Chinese expert said the US has dropped its fig leaf and this is an attempt that in essence serves only its own agenda, and the strengthening of the so-called "defense forces" will only exact a price from the Taiwan residents, the expert added.

Greene's claims were made in an interview with Taiwan regional media outlet "China Times" on Monday, during which he also claimed that the move is also essential for ensuring Taiwan acquires the full range of defence capabilities it has requested, China News Asia reported, citing "China Times."

Green's claims showed that the US is eager to reap substantial gains via arms sales to Taiwan region, an expert on Taiwan Studies based in Shanghai, told the Global Times on Monday, adding that its deeper calculus lies in the fear that the process of China's national reunification could accelerate and is therefore bent on militarizing Taiwan island to contain the Chinese mainland.

While the US has already announced the sale of weapons including the Lockheed Martin-made HIMARS multiple launch rocket system, Taiwan's special defense budget also seeks integrated air and missile defense systems and drones, among other things,‌ Greene claimed, as reported by Channel News Asia.

Greene's claims have also drawn attention from some Taiwan media outlets, including Taiwan regional media CTi News and Meihua Media, which characterized his appeal as "rare."

The expert said that this time, the US has sent its director to personally pressure Taiwan island into passing the budget, adopting a far more hawkish and unvarnished stance than in the past.

The US' aim of hollowing out Taiwan's economy and forcibly tying the island to its war chariot has now been laid bare, the expert said.

The expert noted that Taiwan regional leader Lai Ching-te and the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) authorities have bowed to the US strategic scheming in Taiwan and kept catering to US demands incessantly. 

The DPP authorities cling to illusions about the US and recklessly dash down the path of "Taiwan independence," yet it is the Taiwan residents who will ultimately pay a hefty price, the expert said.

In response to an inquiry concerning a letter jointly issued by bipartisan US senators to Taiwan's regional legislative body which urged the region to pass its so-called "special defense budget" to bolster "self-defense capabilities," Zhang Han, spokesperson for the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, said on April 22 that China firmly opposes certain forces in the US which have long attempted to play the "Taiwan card," contain China by leveraging the Taiwan question, and obstruct China's national reunification. 

The DPP authorities seek to pursue "Taiwan independence" by force and by relying on external forces, willingly acting as a cash cow for US arms dealers. In the end, they will only turn Taiwan into a powder keg and an ammunition depot, bringing ruin and harm to the island and courting self-destruction, the spokesperson added.