Taiwan should pay the US for its defense because it does n’t give it anything, according to Donald Trump, the US Republican presidential candidate, who sent shares of Taiwanese chip manufacturer TSMC down on Wednesday.
” I know the people quite nicely, value them greatly. They did get about 100 % of our device business. I think, Taiwan should compensate us for defence”, Trump said in discussion with Bloomberg Businessweek on June 25 but published on Tuesday.
” You know, we’re not different than an insurance company. Taiwan does n’t give us anything”.
The US is Taiwan’s most significant global supporter and arms vendor, but there is no conventional military deal. But, Taiwan must have the means to support itself under the law.
Taiwan, which China views as its own country, has complained of repeated Chinese military exercises over the past four decades as Beijing presses the democracy controlled beach to reject China’s claims of sovereignty.
US President Joe Biden has insulted the Taiwanese government by making comments that appeared to suggest that the US would defend Taiwan if it was attacked, a diversion from the US’s long-held” proper ambiguity.”
Since 1979, when the US switched to Beijing for recognition, there has n’t been any formal diplomatic or military ties between Washington and Taipei.
Taiwan’s government and TSMC, which are already in a calm period ahead of its scheduled next quarter earnings report on Thursday, did not immediately respond.
Shares in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Ltd ( TSMC), the world’s largest contract chipmaker and a major Apple and Nvidia supplier, fell more than 2 % on Wednesday morning. The overall market was down about 0.4 %.
TSMC is investing billions to build new factories abroad, including$ 65 billion on three Arizona flowers, even though it claims the majority of production will continue to be done there.
Additionally, Taiwan has a backlog of about$ 9 billion in arms shipments from the US, which US officials and politicians have consistently pledged to accelerate.
Taiwan has complained of difficulties in the delivery of US weapons, including Stinger anti-aircraft weapons, since 2022, as manufacturers concentrated on providing Ukraine with supplies to support it defeat Russian invading forces.
After House Republican leaders abruptly reversed their decision and approved a vote on the$ 95 billion in primarily military aid for Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan and US partners in the Indo-Pacific, the US Congress unanimously approved a comprehensive foreign aid package that included arms support for the island in April.
