TAIPEI, March 5 ------ The United States will "not abandon" the Asia-Pacific region, Taiwan's defense chief said, days after US President Donald Trump's fiery clash with Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky fueled concern in Taiwan over American support for the island. Taiwan faces the constant threat of an invasion by China, which claims the island as part of its territory, and Taipei is heavily reliant on Washington for its security backing. Trump's repeated criticism of Taiwan over its dominance of the global semiconductor chip industry and its defense spending has raised doubts about his willingness to protect the island.
Speaking to reporters on Monday — days after Trump warned Zelensky to make a deal with the US "or we're out" Taiwanese Defense Minister Wellington Koo said he was "convinced that the US will not abandon the Indo-Pacific." "It doesn't want a war in the region, since that would lead to the loss of the Indo-Pacific region and bear immense costs," Koo said, using another term for the Asia-Pacific region, in remarks embargoed until Tuesday. "The US cannot withdraw from the Indo-Pacific because this is its core interest. This is undoubtedly a fundamental national interest for the US, whether from the perspective of economic growth, geopolitical relevance, or military security," he added.
Koo also said Taiwan was in the center of the Asia-Pacific's so-called first island chain linking Okinawa in Japan, Taiwan and the Philippines — and its security was critical to its neighbors, who have competing territorial claims with China. "If Taiwan were breached and taken over by the CCP, what situation would Japan face? What situation would the Philippines face?" Koo asked, using the acronym for the Chinese Communist Party. He warned China's "authoritarian expansionism" would not stop. Meanwhile, Taiwan's Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday it "continues to assess the positions of Russia, the United States, the European Union and Ukraine" after a White House official said Trump had suspended military aid to Kyiv.
The US does not have formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan, but Washington has long been Taipei's most important partner and biggest supplier of arms. Taiwan has repeatedly vowed to increase defense spending as it seeks to stay onside with the Trump administration, and Koo said there were ongoing discussions with Washington about the weapons procurement process. "We are communicating with them and, of course, we hope they will also expedite the review process for arms sales that are essential for building our self-defense capabilities," the defense chief said. "This is something we are continuously working on in our discussions with them." Koo would not comment on specific purchases, but said "asymmetric capabilities and defense resilience are our priorities for foreign military procurement." Taiwan's roughly weeklong "Han Kuang" annual military drills will be expanded this year, he said, with five new joint operational exercises added and live-fire drills held over 10 days.
Source: manilatimes.net
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