Taiwan must show new US president it is determined to defend itself, defence minister says

By Ben Blanchard and Yimou Lee

TAIPEI (Reuters) -Taiwan must show it is determined to defend itself no matter who wins the U.S. presidency on Nov. 5, Defence Minister Wellington Koo said on Tuesday as the U.S. election campaign entered its final hours.

Donald Trump, the Republican candidate for the U.S. presidency and neck and neck in the polls with Democrat Vice President Kamala Harris, has made comments on the campaign trail that Taiwan should pay to be protected and also accused the island of stealing American semiconductor business.

Democratically-governed Taiwan, which China views as its own territory, has faced a sustained military pressure campaign from Beijing over the past five years, including four major rounds of war games in the past two years.

"No matter who is elected (as U.S. president), we have to let them understand that Taiwan has the determination to defend itself, and the importance of Taiwan's economic security and strategic geopolitical position," Koo told reporters on the sidelines of parliament.

He said the government's position was to continuously strengthen its self-defence capabilities.

"We take the attitude of maintaining regional peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait to let the world see Taiwan's value, whether in terms of economic security or Taiwan's strategic geopolitical position, so that the world can see the important value of Taiwan," Koo said, when asked was he nervous a new Trump administration would abandon the island.

An internal Taiwan security memo, a copy of which was reviewed by Reuters, said China has recently launched a renewed propaganda campaign trying to stir up fears the island would become a "sacrificial piece" because the United States is likely to change its support for Taiwan after the vote.

"The reality is that regardless of the election outcome supporting Taiwan has become a consensus," the memo added.

China's Taiwan Affairs Office, which implied last week that Trump as president could "discard" Taiwan, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

While the United States is Taiwan's most important international backer and arms supplier despite the absence of formal diplomatic ties, Taiwan has also made developing its own weapons systems a priority, like missiles and submarines.

Taiwan has no formal defence pact with the United States, as Asian neighbours Japan and South Korea do, since Washington terminated a previous treaty with Taipei in 1979 when it switched diplomatic recognition to Beijing.

However, some Taiwanese military personnel do train in the United States, including F-16 fighter pilots, and Taiwan's government has said small numbers of U.S. forces are on the island in a training role.

Taiwan has reported an uptick in Chinese military activities as the U.S. election has approached, including China staging long-range air force drills into the Pacific passing through air space to the island's south.

Taiwan received strong backing from Trump's administration during 2017 to 2021, including arms sales, which have continued under the government of President Joe Biden.

(Reporting by Ben Blanchard and Yimou Lee; Editing by Michael Perry)