Taiwan, responding to Trump’s invasion comments, says it must rely on itself for security

TAIPEI – Taiwan must rely on itself for its security, the island’s foreign ministry said on Aug 19, responding to US President Donald Trump saying Chinese President Xi Jinping told him China would not invade the island while Mr Trump was in office.

Asked about Mr Trump’s remarks, Taiwan Foreign Ministry spokesman Hsiao Kuang-wei said the government closely monitored interactions between senior US and Chinese officials.

“Taiwan’s security must be achieved through its own efforts, so our country has been dedicating itself to raising its self defence capabilities and resilience. Our country will keep working hard to do this,” Mr Hsiao told reporters in Taipei.

Democratic Taiwan has over the past five years or so faced ramped up military and political pressure from China, which views the separately governed island as its "sacred" territory. Beijing has never renounced the use of force to bring Taiwan under its control.

The US is Taiwan’s most important international backer and arms supplier, although there are no formal diplomatic ties.

There is also no defence treaty between the US and Taiwan. So in the event that China attacks Taiwan, Washington is under no obligation to help.

The US, which is however bound by law to provide Taiwan with the means to defend itself, has long stuck to a policy of “strategic ambiguity” by not making clear whether it would respond militarily to a Chinese attack on Taiwan.

Trump made the invasion comments in an interview on Fox News, ahead of the Aug 15 talks in Alaska with Russian President Vladimir Putin over the war in Ukraine.

On Aug 18, China’s foreign ministry said Taiwan was an internal matter that was for the Chinese people to resolve.

Taiwan’s government vehemently opposes China’s sovereignty claims. REUTERS