Taiwan ‘confident’ in US ties ahead of Trump visit to China

Trump will be in Beijing from Wednesday to Friday for a summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping where the issue of democratically governed Taiwan, which China views as its territory, is certain to come up. (AFP)

• Trump will be in Beijing from Wednesday to Friday for a summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping where the issue of democratically governed Taiwan

TAIPEI: Taiwan is “confident” in ‌the stable development of its ties with the US and Washington has repeatedly said its policy toward the island will not change, Foreign ​Minister Lin Chia-lung said on Monday of US President Donald Trump’s upcoming China trip.
Trump will be in Beijing from Wednesday to Friday for a summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping where the issue of democratically governed Taiwan, which China views as its territory, is certain to come up.
China has never renounced the use ‌of force ‌to bring Taiwan under its control.
The ​US ‌is ⁠bound by ​law ⁠to provide Taiwan with the means to defend itself, and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said last week there needs to be stability across the Taiwan Strait.
Speaking to reporters at parliament in Taipei, Lin said the government is closely monitoring the upcoming Trump-Xi meeting.
“We have ⁠also maintained continuous communication with the United ‌States — whether through public statements ‌from the US government or through ​non-public channels. We are ‌confident in the stable development of Taiwan-US relations,” he ‌said.
“The US government has repeatedly expressed that its Taiwan policy will not change,” Lin added.
The US has pushed Taiwan, along with its major allies around the world, to spend more on ‌their defense.
But last week, Taiwan’s opposition-controlled parliament passed a smaller special defense budget than ⁠the government ⁠had requested.
A senior US official said on Sunday that the US was disappointed by parliament approving defense spending short of what Washington believes is needed.
Lin said he hoped parliament could take “remedial” action so that the defense budget can support Taiwan’s security policy, as maintaining peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait is a common goal shared by Taiwan and like-minded nations.
“However, peace depends on strength — it requires demonstrating the defense capability for ​self-defense in order to deter ​aggression,” he said.
“In particular, the Chinese communists are currently pursuing military buildup and authoritarian expansion.”