Trump demands Taiwan pay the US for defence against China - 'We're no different than an insurance company'

Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung responded saying Taiwan must rely on itself for defence and is likely to keep increasing spending and modernising its military given the threat it faces from China.

Trump said in interview: "I know the people very well, respect them greatly. They did take about 100 per cent of our chip business. I think, Taiwan should pay us for defence...You know, we're no different than an insurance company. Taiwan doesn't give us anything."

Minister Lin told foreign reporters in Taipei that "we pay great attention to" them, and Taiwan-US relations are built on the bipartisan support Taiwan enjoys in the United States.

"I think everyone has a consensus on the main point, which is the China threat," said Lin, who took up his post on May 20 as part of the cabinet of newly elected President Lai Ching-te.

He added: "In fact on national defence, we must rely on ourselves - this is the precondition. Since the start of Taiwan's democratisation over the past 30 years, we have stood alone against China's threat."

In the past eight years, Taiwan's defence spending has doubled to now stand at 2.5 per cent of GDP, Lin said. "I expect this will continue to rise."

LATEST DEVELOPMENTS

• Tourist boat in Turkey engulfed in flames as visitors scramble into water to escape
• British eco-adventurer on 'green odyssey' across the Atlantic found dead in lifeboat
• Dublin protest: Coolock resident says frustration is 'boiling over' for locals

Successive US administrations have encouraged Taiwan to modernise its military to become a "porcupine" that is hard for China to attack.

That strategy has also been championed by Taiwan's government since the ruling Democratic Progressive Party took office in 2016.

China has never renounced the use of force to bring Taiwan under its control, and has rebuffed repeated offers of talks from President Lai, who Beijing calls a "separatist". He rejects China's sovereignty claims, saying only Taiwan's people can decide their future.

Lin said Taiwan needed to pay attention to, but not be constrained by, China's centennial goals, including the building of a world-class military by 2049, the 100th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China.

Minister Lin told reporters: "We must be prepared to face a possible Chinese invasion, but we must be united.

"We hope that every day when Xi Jinping gets up in the morning, that even though he has a timetable for the future that he says 'not today'"