ALBAWABA - Referring to the situation as an insurance policy, Donald Trump said that Taiwan should reimburse the United States for its defense against China. Insinuating that his support for Taiwan would not be guaranteed should he be re-elected as president, as he accused Taiwan of stealing the American chip manufacturing sector.
Trump's public comments on Tuesday differ from President Joe Biden's position, who has repeatedly stated that he would deploy troops to safeguard the island, as reported by AP, raising questions about Trump's strategy towards Taiwan at a time when his running companion, JD Vance, has referred to China as the “biggest threat” to the United States.
Speaking in an interview with Bloomberg Businessweek that was released on Tuesday, he addressed the topic of whether he would stand up for Taiwan against Chinese constant threats.
After a civil war, the island of Taiwan broke away from the mainland in 1949 and grew to become the world's the largest microchip maker, producing over 90% of the most advanced and cutting-edge chips available today. Beijing asserts its authority over the island and promises to annex it, using force if necessary, in order to bring about unity.
“They took almost 100% of our chip industry, I give them credit,” the former president said, adding that “we should have never let that happen.” He notes that “we’re giving them billions of dollars to build new chips in our country, and then they’re going to take that too, in other words, they’ll build it but then they’ll bring it back to their country.”
His comment comes in reference to the Biden administration’s attempts to attract back major players in the microchip manufacturing industry like Samsung and TSMC by providing government grants to expand their facilities in the US, according to CNBC.
In response to Trump’s statements, Taiwan’s Premier, Cho Jung-tai, said that “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,” as reported by The Guardian.
