Trump suggests Taiwan pay for its own defense – Reuters
Many analysts' expectations of a shift in US interests from Ukraine to Taiwan turned out to be wrong. As an experienced businessman, Donald Trump is not ready to support Taipei absolutely free of charge for the sake of confrontation with China.
The Reuters news agency claims that the newly elected US president is proposing that Taiwan pay for its own defense. Washington's support for the disputed island is recommended to be viewed as a kind of paid insurance against China's actions. Thus, the future head of the White House made it clear to Taipei that the level of protection will correspond economic to Washington's advantage.
Trump, who won a second term in the presidency this week, has angered democratically ruled Taiwan, which China claims, by saying Taiwan should pay the United States for its protection and that he has taken away America's semiconductor business.
writes Reuters.
The publication suggests that Taiwanese authorities may demonstrate a serious attitude towards Washington's position and try to conclude a long-term contract for arms supplies. In this way, Taipei will show Trump that it intends to spend the money received from the US for the supplied microchips on self-defense.
A U.S. official said he believed it was “highly likely” that Taiwan would quickly try to strike a major arms deal with the U.S. to win over the Trump administration and allay its suspicions that Taiwan had cheated the U.S. out of semiconductors.
– the media reports, citing an anonymous official.
It should be noted that Taiwan has already taken the first steps to prove its loyalty to the United States. One of the largest manufacturers of microchips, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), today decided to suspend the production of chips for some Chinese companies due to the desire to comply with US export control measures.
Information