Trump says Taiwan should pay the US for its defence as ‘it doesn’t give us anything’

Donald Trump has said Taiwan should pay the US for protection from China, calling into question Washington’s support for the island democracy should he win back the White House in November’s presidential election.

In response to Trump’s comments, premier Cho Jung-tai said Taiwan and the US have good relations despite the lack of formal ties, but added that Taiwan was increasing its capabilities to defend itself. .

In an interview with Bloomberg Businessweek on Tuesday, Trump was asked if he would defend Taiwan against China if he wins the US election in November. China’s ruling Communist party claims Taiwan as a province and has vowed to annex it, refusing to rule out the use of military force. The US does not formally recognise Taiwan but is it’s most important security partner.

In response to the question Trump said Taiwan should be paying the US to defend it, that the US was “no different than an insurance company” and that Taiwan “doesn’t give us anything”.

The US sells Taiwan billions of dollars in weapons under legislative obligations to provide it with the means to defend itself. These sales markedly increased under Trump’s presidency.

However, Trump’s comments on Tuesday suggest his support for Taiwan is not guaranteed. Trump noted China’s increased military aggression towards Taiwan, said he, “wouldn’t feel too secure if I was [Taiwan]”, and questioned why the US was acting as Taiwan’s “insurance” when, he claimed, they had taken American chip business.

Without evidence, Trump repeated accusations that Taiwan had taken “almost 100%” of the US’s semiconductor industry.

Taiwan produces more than 90% of the world’s most advanced chips, mostly through the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Ltd (TSMC), the world’s largest producer and a major Apple and Nvidia supplier. TSMC is spending billions building new factories overseas, including $65bn on three plants in the US state of Arizona, though it says most manufacturing will remain in Taiwan. TSMC’s shares were down 2.4% on Wednesday’s close. The broader market ended down 1%.

Responding to Trump on Wednesday, Taiwan’s Premier, Cho Jung-tai, told a press briefing that Taiwan was grateful to the US for its support, and that Taiwan was “working hard” to maintain the relationship while also increasing their self-defence capabilities and “as a member of the international community”.

“Taiwan and the US share a common responsibility for the Indo-Pacific region of the Taiwan Strait, and we are willing to do more to defend ourselves and protect our security,” he said.

Cho also said the government hoped and expected that Taiwanese chip manufacturers would keep their R&D in Taiwan.

“R&D staying in Taiwan is the best option, and the government will maintain such an environment and continue to work with the industry,” he said, inviting other foreign companies to set up in Taiwan.

Trump’s comments added to signs that the US approach to China could be hawkish – but potentially unpredictable – should he win in November.

Elsewhere in the interview the former president pledged that he would impose tariffs on China of between 60 and 100%, but that he would back down on banning the China-owned app, TikTok. He also said China’s leader Xi Jinping was “a very good friend of mine” until the pandemic.

Trump’s newly announced running mate, JD Vance, told Fox News on Tuesday the US should be focused on China as its greatest security threat.

“You have to ask yourself, is China going to be more dissuaded by us thumping our chests and acting tough in Europe, or are they going to be more dissuaded by us having the weapons necessary to prevent them from invading Taiwan?” Vance said.

Official US policy towards Taiwan is “strategic ambiguity”, which refuses to state if they would come to its defence in the event of a Chinese attack, however Biden has said on several occasions he would defend Taiwan.

Additional reporting by Chi Hui Lin and Reuters