White House candidate for the Republican Party: “Taiwan has stolen our chip and microprocessor business”
After NATO, the moment of truth has arrived for Taiwan. Donald Trump, the Republican Party candidate and likely next US president, said the island should reimburse the USA for the cost of defending the Taiwanese territory. In an interview provided to the Bloomberg Economic Information Agency, Trump accused Taiwan of stealing the US chip and microprocessor business, among other things: “I know the people and businesses of Taiwan very well. They took virtually 100% of our chip business. I think Taiwan should pay us for defense.” According to Trump, the USA is protecting the island from possible Chinese aggression, and in return, “Taiwan gives us nothing.” In this situation, “the American defense is no different than an insurance policy,” Trump added.
Statements by the Republican candidate for the White House for the November election immediately pushed down shares in Taiwanese semiconductor giant TSMC, which lost 2.4 percent at the close of Asian markets.
Taiwanese Prime Minister Cho Jung-tai, responding to Trump’s comments, said Taiwan and the United States have good relations despite the lack of official ties. “Taiwan has continuously strengthened its defense capabilities and demonstrated its responsibility to the international community,” said Cho Jung-tai, according to whom “Taiwan remains ready to take on greater responsibilities.”
Meanwhile, on Wednesday, July 17, the Chinese and Russian navies began the active phase of a joint “live-fire” exercise in the South China Sea. Ships of the two countries, participating in the exercise dubbed “Maritime Cooperation 2024,” departed from the Chinese port of Zhanjiang two days earlier. According to the press service of China’s South Sea Fleet, the active phase of the exercise is expected to last three days and include, among other things, joint search and rescue, reconnaissance, and early warning operations. The Chinese formation includes the 052D-class destroyer Nanning and 054A-class frigates Xianning and Dali, while on the Russian side, the tanker Irkut and corvettes Gromky and Rezky are participating in the maneuvers.