Taiwan says committed to strengthening defence after Trump comments

TAIPEI — Taiwan is committed to boosting its defences and working with the United States, the foreign ministry said on Thursday (July 18), days after Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump was quoted as saying Taiwan should pay to be defended.

The United States is Chinese-claimed Taiwan's most important international backer and arms supplier, despite the lack of formal diplomatic ties, and Washington is bound by law to provide the means for the island's defence.

Taiwan's government has made defence modernisation a priority, including developing its own submarines, and has said many times the island's security rests in its own hands. The budgeted defence spending for this year amounts to 2.5 per cent of its gross domestic product, a historic high.

Speaking to reporters in Taipei, Kuoyu Chiao, deputy head of the North America department at Taiwan's foreign ministry, said Taiwan and the United States share the universal values of democracy, freedom, and human rights, and have a mutually beneficial economic relationship.

"Therefore, Taiwan has long enjoyed cross-party and cross-government support in the United States," he said, declining to comment directly on Trump's remarks.

"In the future, we will continue to work together with the United States and like-minded countries to strengthen our national defence capabilities and jointly maintain peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait," Chiao added.

A top national security adviser to Trump said on Wednesday that Taiwan needs to boost its defence spending significantly in the face of potential Chinese aggression.

Late Wednesday, Taiwan's ruling party said Trump's comments regarding the island were nothing more than a hope that Taiwan would show the same determination to