Following Donald Trump’s recent win in the U.S. presidential election, Taiwan’s Deputy Foreign Minister Francois Wu expressed confidence that Washington, under Trump’s leadership, would not abandon Taiwan, given its vital role in semiconductor production, as reported by Taiwan News.
In an interview with the Globe and Mail, Wu stated, “Trump wants to make America great again. I think without Taiwan, he cannot make America great again. He needs the semiconductors made here,” noting that Taiwan supplies over 60 percent of the world’s semiconductor chips and over 90 percent of the most advanced chips.
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Addressing Trump’s earlier comments on Taiwan potentially needing to pay more for U.S. military aid, Wu pointed out that Taipei has nearly doubled its defense budget over the last eight years. He also highlighted that there is an existing backlog of U.S. arms that Taiwan ordered but has yet to receive.
Taiwan News reported that Taiwan is open to purchasing advanced U.S. weapons, like the F-35 fighter jet, if they are made available. Wu conveyed his belief that a Trump-led U.S. would continue to protect American interests should tensions escalate in the Taiwan Strait.
Wu described Taiwan’s defense stance as a “not today” policy, aiming to keep Chinese President Xi Jinping uncertain, ensuring he thinks, “every day when he wakes up that today is not the day to invade Taiwan.”
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Meanwhile, China has escalated its incursions near Taiwan by 300 percent since May, according to U.S. Commander of Pacific Air Forces, General Kevin Schneider, who cautioned that such regional tensions might challenge Trump’s administration, as reported by the Taipei Times. Schneider noted that China’s tactics extend beyond its borders, demonstrating to the world its assertive strategy. “Whether it’s coming into the air defense identification zone [ADIZ] or crossing the center line within the Taiwan Strait, since the inauguration [of President William Lai], we have seen a 300 per cent increase in those air activities,” he told NBC News, as quoted by the Taipei Times.
From May to November of last year, the Ministry of National Defence recorded 335 Chinese aircraft intrusions into Taiwan’s ADIZ. This year, that number has surged to at least 1,085 incidents during the same timeframe, according to Taipei Times.
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