Taiwan's democracy is being cast as a defense asset rather than a weakness, a positive framing for Taipei's plan to lift military spending sharply by 2030.

• The top US representative in Taiwan, Raymond Greene, dismissed the idea that bigger arms budgets breed corruption, pointing to Russia's broken gear in Ukraine as what happens without a free press and legislative oversight.
• He said Taiwan can afford the spending — its government debt is among the lowest of rich economies, and its growth and tax revenue are the envy of the world.
• On the claim that Taiwan lacks people to operate new weapons, he pointed to the year-long conscription term that took effect in 2024, which will add over 30,000 better-trained reservists next year.
• Israel was held up as the model: a small population turned into a large, fast-mobilizing reserve force, with Taiwanese women named as a big untapped pool.
• Money spent on Taiwan's own defense industry was framed as a double win — security plus jobs and exports into democratic supply chains.

Outlook: Expect Taipei to push toward the 5%-of-GDP defense target with longer reservist training and a bigger domestic arms industry, backed publicly by Washington.