Taiwan stands up to Donald Trump's comments on defense

Remarks earlier this week by US Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump that Taiwanshould "pay" the US for protection from China have sown doubt on the self-ruled island about Washington's commitment to defense should Trump win the presidency.

Trump's remarks have sparked heated debates and blanket media coverage in Taiwan, with headlines warning of "Trump security fees."

The US is Taiwan's most important security benefactor as it faces a persistent threat from China, which considers the democratic island to be a breakaway province that one day will be "reunited" with the mainland, by force if necessary.

In the interview published Tuesday, Trump said that he didn't think US protection for Taiwan was "any different from an insurance policy."

"Why are we doing this? … I think Taiwan should pay us for defense," he said.

Taiwan's record-high defense spending

On Wednesday, Taiwan's premier, Cho Jung-tai, addressed Trump's remarks at a press briefing and underlined Tapei's increased defense spending in recent budgets and the extension of military conscription to one year.

"It's our shared responsibility and goal to maintain the peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait and the Indo-Pacific region," Cho said, while lauding recent US-Taiwan ties as "solid."

He added that Taiwan would be "willing" to take on more responsibility and emphasized that the island's defense is in its own hands.

On Thursday, Kuoyu Chiao, deputy head of the North America department at Taiwan's Foreign Ministry, told reporters that Taiwan's defense spending is at a historic high of 2.5% of the nation's gross domestic product (GDP). He added that Taiwan's government is prioritizing the modernization of its military.

US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller also said in a press briefing on Wednesday that Taipei has been "paying for its own defense" by purchasing military equipment from Washington "to the tune of billions of dollars."

Trump's transactional view of the world

Trump's remarks on Taiwan were only a small part of a sweeping interview with the monthly business magazine Bloomberg Businessweek recorded in late June that gauged the former president's take on business, the US economy and foreign policy.

However, with the US presidential election less than four months away and Trump currently inching ahead in polls against incumbent Democratic President Joe Biden, the statements were taken as a potential harbinger of a radical shift in foreign policy for the next presidential administration.

Fang-Yu Chen, an assistant professor of Political Science at Soochow University in Taiwan, told DW that Trump has remained consistent in asking US' allies to "pay for protection."

Trump has often made similar remarks in the past, he said, reflecting the former president's transactional view of foreign policy and diplomacy.

The comments about Taiwan echo those made during a February campaign rally warning "delinquent" NATO allies to "pay their bills" or be cut off from US support, he added.

Chen also pointed out that it was more concerning that Trump implied Taiwan is "too far away" from the US for military defense. In the interview, Trump was quoted as emphasizing that "Taiwan is 9,500 miles [14.5 kilometers, editor's note] away” from the US but only "68 miles away from China."

If Trump is eventually elected as president, Chen said, it would "directly add a lot of fuel to the narratives in Taiwan of 'America skepticism'" — the growing sentiment in Taiwan that the US was not a trustworthy country. 

"Business is business, defense is defense. These two things shouldn't be mixed up," a woman in her 50s also told DW on the streets of Taipei.

"No matter who wins the [US] election, I believe we as Taiwanese have to defend ourselves," another woman told DW.

Although Washington does not formally recognize Taiwan, it has supported the self-ruled democracy with arms sales for decades. These sales markedly increased under Trump's presidency, with purchases of over $18 billion (€16.5 billion) worth of weapons like fighter jets and missile systems.

The Biden administration last month approved the sale of $360 million worth of weapons to Taiwan, including drone technology.

Chips on the table 

Trump also brought up semiconductor production in Taiwan, alleging "they took all our [US] business … they're immensely wealthy."

Taiwan produces over 90% of the world's most advanced chips, mostly through the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC). After Trump's comments, the company's stock dipped by several percentage points.

Trump has repeatedly accused Taiwan of taking away the US' semiconductor business. Last year, in a Fox News interview, he implied that Washington should erect trade barriers against Taiwan with higher tariffs.

TSMC is building new factories overseas, including in the US, but says it will keep the most state-of-the-art production on the island —what the Taiwanese government views as a way to increase the economic costs of any military attacks by China.

Yuchen Li in Taipei contributed to this article.

Edited by: Ole Tangen Jr.