Summary
Taiwan’s Defense Minister Wellington Koo said the US will not abandon the Indo-Pacific, calling it a “core national interest.”
Heightened fears arose after a Trump-Zelenskyy exchange raised questions about Washington’s reliability.
Taiwan plans to boost defense spending and assist TSMC’s US expansion, partly addressing Trump’s earlier complaints.
Trump also urged Taiwan to raise its defense budget to 10% of GDP, far above its current 2.45%.
With China’s ongoing threats, Taipei sees its partnership with the US as essential for maintaining regional stability.
Sure, Jan. Taipei “[seeing] its partnership with the US as essential” means fuck-all to Trump.
Six months ago, Canadians thought the same thing. Now our entire steel industry is at risk, with significant threats to aluminum as well. Military recruitment is way up because the threat is real.