Taiwan President Lai Ching-te said Friday he was “confident” of deeper cooperation with the next Donald Trump administration, a day after his call with U.S. Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson that angered China.
Like other world governments, Taiwan has publicly congratulated Trump on his victory in November’s presidential election as it seeks to get onside with the next U.S. leader.
The United States does not have official diplomatic relations with Taiwan, but Washington has long been Taipei’s biggest backer and provider of arms.
Trump caused jitters during his campaign by suggesting Taiwan should pay the United States for its defense and accusing the island of stealing the U.S. semiconductor industry.
“Taiwan is confident that it will continue to deepen cooperation with the new government to resist authoritarian expansion, and create prosperity and development for both countries while making more contributions to regional stability and peace,” Lai told reporters in Palau.
Lai arrived in the tiny Pacific island nation on Thursday after visiting the American territory of Guam where he had a call with Johnson — the highest-level U.S. contact the Taiwanese leader had during his weeklong trip.
China claims Taiwan as part of its territory and opposes any international recognition of the island. Beijing especially bristles at high-level official contact between Taipei and Washington.
A 2022 visit to Taiwan by then-U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi prompted China to launch major military drills around the self-ruled island.
China’s foreign ministry on Friday warned Taiwan that “seeking independence with the help of the United States will inevitably hit a wall,” and called on Washington to “cease meddling in Taiwan-related affairs.”
In response to a question about possible Chinese military drills around Taiwan this weekend, Lai said “raising your fists is not as good as opening your hands.”
Lai also insisted that Taiwan and China were “not subordinate to each other.”
“No matter how many military exercises, warships and aircraft China sends to coerce neighboring countries, it cannot win the respect of any country,” Lai said.
Lai’s tour — his first overseas trip since taking office in May — was aimed at fortifying ties in the Pacific, where China has been poaching its allies.
Palau is among 12 nations that still recognize Taiwan, after China convinced others to sever diplomatic relations with Taipei in favor of Beijing.
Earlier, Lai and his Palau counterpart, Surangel Whipps Jr., watched a joint rescue exercise involving Taiwan’s largest coast guard patrol ship and two vessels donated by Taiwan to Palau.
Before that, Lai attended a ribbon-cutting ceremony for a new “one-stop” government services building in Palau that Taiwan helped fund.
Lai hailed the building project “a model of successful bilateral cooperation” and said the Taiwan-Palau alliance was “rock solid.”
The dispute between Taiwan and China goes back to 1949 when Chiang Kai-shek’s nationalist forces were defeated by Mao Zedong’s communist fighters and fled to the island.
While Taiwan regards itself as a sovereign nation — with its own government, military, and currency — Beijing insists the island belongs to China and has not ruled out the use of force to bring it under its control.
Taiwan faces the constant threat of a military attack by China, which regularly deploys fighter jets and warships around the island to press its claims, and it relies heavily on U.S. arms sales to boost its defenses.
On the eve of Lai’s Pacific tour, the United States approved a proposed sale to Taiwan of spare parts for F-16s and radar systems, as well as communications equipment, in deals valued at $385 million in total.
Speaking during a two-day visit to the U.S. state of Hawaii on Saturday, Lai said there was a need to “fight together to prevent war,” warning there were “no winners” from conflict.
Lai arrived back in Taipei on Friday, wrapping up a trip that also included visits to Taiwan’s other Pacific island allies the Marshall Islands and Tuvalu.