Taiwan wants US security, tech cooperation despite trade hurdles

Washington - Taiwan is seeking deeper military and economic cooperation with America despite tariffs imposed by US President Donald Trump that have rattled business leaders on the island, a Taiwanese official said on May 11.

The US, a vital security ally for the island threatened by China, in April imposed hefty tariffs on trading partners globally including Taipei before pausing them for 90 days.

“We have seen the whole world express concern over the tariffs issue. And our President, Lai Ching-te, has already met the heads of major Taiwanese companies 10 times, which also shows their great concern,” Mr Kung Ming-hsin, secretary-general of Taiwan’s executive branch, told AFP.

But during a visit to Washington for an investment summit, Mr Kung suggested the two parties could work together on security and technology.

“We can have research and development together in the area of drones, for example,” he said. “The US has advanced technologies, and Taiwan is very strong in having a mass production of this kind of advanced technologies.”

Mr Kung touted an opportunity for “good cooperation” that could in turn benefit “enhancing our industrial security”.

Washington is Taiwan’s main security guarantor at a time when Beijing has escalated its rhetoric and threatened to use force to bring the island under its control.

Around 60 per cent of Taiwanese exports to the US fall within the information technology sector and are mainly semiconductors, which are used in everything from televisions and cars to weapons and supercomputers. AFP