Burley Garcia|Trump says Taiwan should pay more for defense and dodges questions if he would defend the island

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Burley GarciaRepublican presidential candidate Donald Trump demanded the self-governed island of Taiwan pay for U.S. protection, dodged the question of whether he would defend the island from Beijing’s military action, and accused the island of taking the semiconductor industry away from the United States.

“Taiwan should pay us for defense,” Trump said, in an interview with Bloomberg Businessweek. “You know, we’re no different than an insurance company.”

Trump’s remarks, made public Tuesday, mark a departure from the stance of President Joe Biden, who has said several times that he would send troops to defend the island, and add uncertainty to Trump’s approach to Taiwan at a time his running mate, JD Vance, has called China the “biggest threat” for the United States.

In Taiwan, Premier Cho Jung-tai responded that Taiwan is “willing to take on more responsibility” and would defend itself.

“I believe that as long as we continue to demonstrate (these efforts), we will receive support from more countries,” Cho said, thanking Washington for repeatedly expressing concerns over Taiwan’s security, according to Central News Agency, Taiwan’s official wire service.

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Moments earlier, Cho told the press: “I am sure that everyone knows that the Taiwan-U.S. relations is rock-solid from the past years. The peace and stability over the Taiwan Strait and the Indo-Pacific region are our common responsibility and goal.”

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As the rivalry between Washington and Beijing heats up, Taiwan — an island that broke away from the mainland in 1949 following a civil war — has become one of the thorniest issues in the U.S.-China relations. Beijing claims sovereignty over the island and vows to take it, by force if necessary, to achieve unification, but Washington insists any difference be resolved peacefully to ensure stability and peace in the region. A domestic law — the Taiwan Relations Act — obligates the U.S. to supply Taiwan with hardware and technology to deter any invasion from the mainland. In the past several years, ties between Washington and Taipei have grown stronger, as Beijing ratchets up military and diplomatic pressure on the island.

In his interview, Trump said he didn’t feel “so secure” over the Taiwan Strait, where Beijing has “been very aggressive and got ships all over the place.” He suggested that Beijing could easily take over the island but has not done so because of the island’s prized semiconductor industry. “That’s the apple of President Xi’s eye,” Trump said, referring to Chinese President Xi Jinping.

The former president accused Taiwan of taking “our chip business from us” and suggested that Taiwan has the means to pay.

“I mean, how stupid are we? They took all of our chip business. They’re immensely wealthy,” Trump said.

Trump’s remarks drew criticisms from Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, who accused the former president of betraying Taiwan.

“Former President Trump’s threat to abandon our nation’s longstanding, bipartisan commitments to Taiwan would mean betraying one of the world’s most vibrant democracies to the Chinese Communist Party,” said Krishnamoorth, a democrat and the ranking member of the House Select Committee on China. “Failing to provide for Taiwan’s defense would not only be potentially illegal under the Taiwan Relations Act, it would be a betrayal of American values and our democratic institutions.

“I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to recommit to support our allies and partners, including Taiwan, in defense of democracy,” he said.

Miles Yu, director of the China Center at Hudson Institute and who previously served in the Trump administration, said Trump “did not say the U.S. won’t defend Taiwan.” Instead, the former president said Taiwan should share more of the costs for such a collective defense, which is “far less of a problem” for Taiwan than for other U.S. allies in the region, he said.

“The defense of Taiwan is enshrined in the Taiwan Relations Act,” Yu said. “The joint defense of Taiwan is a national consensus. To change that will be extremely difficult.”

But compared to Biden, Trump would place “utmost importance” on building credible deterrence over Taiwan, Yu said, adding Trump has said he would “bomb” Beijing if it should invade Taiwan.