Peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait are core interests that concern Taiwan and the US, Minister of National Defense Wellington Koo (顧立雄) said yesterday.
Koo’s remarks come in the wake of US President Donald Trump’s statement on Monday during a joint news conference with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) chairman C.C. Wei (魏哲家) announcing that the chipmaking giant would invest another US$100 billion in the US.
A Chinese invasion of Taiwan “would be a catastrophic event, obviously,” Trump said, adding that TSMC’s investment “will at least give us a position where we have, in this very, very important business, we would have a very big part of it in the United States.”
Photo: Chen Yi-kuan, Taipei Times
What Trump said showed that the Indo-Pacific region is a major core interest to the US, Koo said in response to media queries on whether Trump’s statement was an indirect pledge to defend Taiwan.
Should the US retreat from the Indo-Pacific region, it would greatly affect the US’ economic and military security from a strategic and geopolitical standpoint, Koo said.
“Keeping the peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region, including maintaining the status quo across the Taiwan Strait, is in the US’ core national interest, and is the way to ensure the development and prosperity of the global economy,” he said. “Taiwan and the US have the same core interest, and we, too, hope for peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait.”
Based on this common core interest, Taiwan and the US should form a united front of deterrence, communicate and form partnerships to prevent a cross-strait war, he said.
Koo made similar remarks during a media briefing on Monday when asked whether the US is still a reliable security partner for Taiwan after last week’s clash between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy renewed concerns in Taiwan about Washington’s security commitment.
“We indeed noticed the fast-changing and tricky international situation and deeply understand that we cannot just talk about values, but not national interests,” Koo said.
“So we must ask: Keeping the peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region, including the status quo in the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea, is that a core US national interest?” he asked.
“I think it is impossible for the United States to retreat from the Indo-Pacific, because it is its core national interest,” he said.
“Using deterrence and strength to achieve peace” has been the long-standing consensus between Taipei and Washington, and stability in the region is important for the US, economically and geopolitically, he said.
Koo said the government is planning to boost military spending in the face of the “rapidly changing international situation and the escalating threats from adversaries.”
Bolstering the nation’s asymmetric warfare capabilities and defense resilience would be principles governing the procurement of weapons, he added.
The defensive weapon procurement came under scrutiny as the Trump administration has asked US allies to increase military spending.
President William Lai (賴清德) last month also announced that allocating a special budget for defense spending would be a top priority in his administration, with the goal of raising Taiwan’s defense budget to more than 3 percent of GDP.
Media reports have said the government is targeting procurement of M109A7 self-propelled howitzers, MH-60R Seahawk helicopters and Northrop Grumman E-2D Hawkeye aircraft.
Koo did not comment on any specific weapon, saying that exchanges with the US have been proceeding through a well-established mechanism.
Both sides are in discussions over four key issues: building asymmetric warfare capabilities, bolstering the nation’s defense resilience, enhancing the combat ability of the military reserves and strengthening the nation’s ability to tackle “gray zone harassment” from China, he said.
In related news, Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) yesterday said the Executive Yuan is reviewing a comprehensive plan by the Ministry of National Defense to raise military pay.
Cho’s comments came a day after Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers put forward a proposal to increase pay and benefits for military personnel.
Cho said he was pleased to see the potential for bipartisan consensus on improving national defense capabilities, adding that it could lead to quicker, more effective and comprehensive reform.
Additional reporting by AFP and CNA
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