Another blow to Taiwan and the concept of American foreign policy. Trump wants the country to pay for its own defense | News

Reuters writes about it. Shares of the Taiwanese chip manufacturer Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (TSMC) immediately weakened. Taiwanese diplomacy said it would not comment on the statements of candidates in the US presidential campaign.

“I know those people very well, I respect them very much. After all, they took about 100 percent of our chip business from us. I think Taiwan should pay for our defense,” said former US President Trump in an interview with Bloomberg Businessweek, which was published on Tuesday. The interview itself was conducted on June 25. “You know, we are no different from an insurance company. “Taiwan is not giving us anything,” Trump said.

TSMC is the largest contract chip manufacturer in the world. These chips are used in a wide variety of devices, from artificial intelligence applications to smartphones and fighter jets. According to analysts, any war over Taiwan would decimate the world economy.

The United States is Taiwan’s most important international supporter and arms supplier, but has no formal defense agreement with the democratically-ruled island, which is claimed by China. However, the US is legally required to provide Taiwan with means of defense. In the past four years, Taiwan has repeatedly complained about China’s military activities, with which Beijing tries to exert pressure.

US President Joe Biden has angered the Chinese government with comments that appeared to suggest the US would defend Taiwan if attacked, a departure from the long-held US stance of “strategic ambiguity”. Washington maintains official diplomatic relations only with Beijing, while it severed official relations with Taipei in 1979. It continues to govern its relations under the Taiwan Relations Act, which, among other things, authorizes the supply of defensive weapons to the island and the continuation of economic, cultural and political connections.