Taiwan should pay the United States for its security because it pays the country nothing, US Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump said in an interview published Tuesday.
Here are some facts about the relationship between Taiwan and the United States:
History and present status of defense relations
During the height of the Cold War, Taiwan hosted US military bases and the two had a mutual defense treaty. In 1979, the United States severed official ties with the government in Taipei and instead recognized the government in Beijing. The security agreement was also terminated.
After 1979, the relationship between the United States and Taiwan was governed by the Taiwan Relations Act, which provides a legal basis for China to provide means of self-defense for the island, which is claimed by China, but does not require the United States to come to Taiwan’s aid. Under attack.
While the United States has long maintained a policy of “strategic ambiguity” over under what circumstances it would intervene militarily to defend Taiwan in the event of a Chinese attack, US President Joe Biden has said he is prepared to use force in self-defense. Taiwan
The United States has some military personnel in Taiwan for training purposes, and Taiwan sends its F-16 pilots to Luke Air Force Base in Arizona for training.
Senior Taiwanese security officials are also visiting the United States and intelligence exchanges are taking place.
The United States has a large practical embassy in Taipei, the American Institute in Taiwan, where diplomats work. The Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office is the name of Taiwan’s de facto embassy in the United States.
Is Taiwan paying for US military protection?
US treaty allies Japan and South Korea bear most of the cost of maintaining US military bases in Asia under pre-existing arrangements. Because there are no longer any US bases on Taiwan and no defense treaty, the island has no such arrangement.
Still, Taiwan spends a lot on American weapons — it currently owes about $19 billion in arms exports to the United States.
What were the relationships like under Trump’s first presidency?
In one word: excellent. Trump and then-President Tsai Ing-wen spoke by phone shortly after winning the 2016 election, which angered Beijing for the first time since 1979.
The Trump administration sent senior officials to Taiwan, including then-Health Secretary Alex Azar, the highest-ranking U.S. official to visit the island democracy in four decades, where the arms sales continued.
China imposed economic sanctions on Mike Pompeo when he resigned at the end of Trump’s presidency, angered by his public support for the country, particularly the ruling Communist Party and Taiwan.
Does Taiwan have bipartisan support in the US?
U.S. politicians are eager to emphasize that Taiwan is a rare issue with bipartisan support, a point also emphasized by Taiwanese officials, and Taiwan continues to receive bipartisan visits from U.S. lawmakers and former Trump appointees.
In April, the U.S. Congress approved a massive foreign aid package, including arms support for the island, after House Republican leaders abruptly reversed themselves and allowed a vote on $95 billion in military aid to Ukraine, Israel and U.S. partners in Taiwan and Indo. – The Pacific.
Taiwan’s ruling Democratic Progressive Party and the main opposition Kuomintang both have audience delegates at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee.
What about trade and economic relations?
By the end of 2023, Taiwan was the US’s 10th largest export market, valued at $40 billion, and the 8th largest source of imports, valued at $88 billion.
With Taiwan excluded from the Biden administration’s Asia-centric economic plan to counter China’s growing influence, the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework, or IPEF, in 2022, Washington has instead opened negotiations with Taiwan under the “21st Century” trade initiative.
Taiwanese investment in the U.S. is dominated by chipmaker TSMC’s $65 billion project, for which the U.S. government is providing $6.6 billion in subsidies and up to $5 billion in cheap government loans. (Reporting by Ben Blanchard; Editing by Lincoln Feast.)