Taiwan is preparing to work with the incoming U.S. administration on security cooperation, but many are concerned that Washington's commitment to Taiwan’s defense could now change with Donald Trump winning a second term as president.
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00:00Just hours after Donald Trump secured enough votes to become the next president of the
00:05United States, Taiwan's president, Lai Ching-teh, took to social media, posting this congratulatory
00:11message.
00:12The last time Trump won office in 2016, he accepted a call with then-President Tsai Ing-wen,
00:18breaking decades of U.S. policy on Taiwan.
00:22Taiwan's presidential office has denied a report from U.S. media outlet Bloomberg that
00:25Lai tried to call Trump, saying instead that's looking forward to working with the new administration.
00:31That message was also echoed by Taiwan's foreign minister, Lin Jialong, as he addressed lawmakers
00:36on what to expect with the incoming administration in Washington.
00:40First of all, when Trump was in office for the first time, including the opening of the
00:45military to Taiwan, the formalization of the military, the high-level visit to Taiwan, the
00:48announcement of the easing of Taiwan-US exchanges and restrictions, and so on, the Taiwan-U.S.
00:52relations have shown a positive development.
00:55We will work hard to promote the new Trump administration's first-ever position on Taiwan
01:02policy.
01:04Security and government officials are now warning that neighboring China, which threatens
01:08Taiwan with invasion, might use the transition period from Biden to Trump to increase pressure
01:13on Taiwan.
01:14But on the streets of Taipei, many have mixed feelings about the result and are hoping Taiwan's
01:19security is still a priority.
01:21I'm a little worried.
01:23I don't know how Trump's attitude towards Taiwan will change in the future.
01:27He has been mentioning that he will pay protection fees.
01:32So I don't know how he will treat Taiwan in the future.
01:37Maybe he will be more friendly or less friendly.
01:41I still hope to protect Taiwan.
01:44After all, the cross-strait relations are more tense now.
01:49I think Taiwan should rely on itself.
01:53I don't think Taiwan should rely on others.
01:59Trump, known for his transactional approach to the U.S.'s international relations, says
02:04he's looking to put America first.
02:07Leading up to the election, Trump had previously criticized Taiwan for not paying for its defense.
02:13That's despite Taipei buying almost all of its weapons from Washington.
02:18Analysts say that with Trump now in office, that kind of rhetoric could be concerning
02:22for Taiwan and other allies in Asia.
02:24I think Taiwan, like all countries, needs to approach this in a way that tries to prove
02:32value to the United States and show why alliances and why security ties actually do matter in
02:42the context of broader American national interests.
02:46Conservatives in the U.S. have urged other countries around the world to step up defense,
02:51saying it shouldn't just be the U.S. helping to ensure security.
02:54But with Trump's unpredictability, Taiwan, along with other Asian countries, will most
02:59likely have to invest more in defense spending.
03:02I think there's more comfort in Asia than Europe, with the prospect of more broadly
03:08in terms of Trump 2.0.
03:10I think it is likely that states within Asia will continue to increase their defense budgets
03:17simply because, you know, in the world of Trump, commitments are not necessarily ironclad.
03:23While the U.S. and Taiwan don't have official ties, it's still too early to tell if security
03:28cooperation between the two sides will change with a second Trump presidency.
03:32Patrick Chen, Keynes Caranta and Jaime Ocon in Taipei for Taiwan Plus.