“Taiwan Must Rely on Itself for Defense Against China: FM”,In Taipei on Friday, Taiwan’s foreign minister emphasized the island’s need to rely on itself for defense. This statement came in response to US presidential candidate Donald Trump’s assertion that Taiwan “should pay” Washington for defense in a conflict with China.
China asserts Taiwan as part of its territory and has intensified military deployments and aggressive rhetoric towards the democratic island in recent years.
The United States has increased military aid and arms sales to Taiwan as a countermeasure against China. However, earlier this week, Trump suggested that Taiwan “should pay” Washington for its defense.
In response on Friday, Taiwan’s newly appointed Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung stated that Taipei regarded the former president’s comments “very seriously.”
“Everyone should have the consensus that the threat is China,” he told reporters in his first briefing with foreign media since his appointment to the Cabinet of Taiwan’s new President Lai Ching-te.
“As far as national defense is concerned, we must rely on ourselves,” he said, noting that Taiwan has increased its military budget from 2 percent to 2.5 percent of its GDP over the past eight years.
In an interview with Bloomberg Businessweek published earlier this week, Trump had said the United States is “no different than an insurance company. Taiwan doesn’t give us anything”.
When asked if he thinks Chinese President Xi Jinping has a timetable to invade Taiwan, foreign minister Lin called the chatter of a time frame “a cognitive operation”.
“We hope that when Xi Jinping wakes up every day, even if he has a timetable in mind, he will say, not today,” Lin said. “We should not be constrained by his manipulation, but we have to show him our determination and capability.”
