After Trump asks for protection fee, China says US can ‘leave’ Taiwan

China has warned Taiwan it could become an “abandoned pawn” after former President Donald Trump suggested it would not pay the US enough “protection money”.

In an interview on The Joe Rogan Experience broadcast Saturday, the Republican presidential candidate repeated his claim that Taiwan had “stolen” the U.S. chip industry before suggesting it should pay Washington to defend it from China, which claims the self-governing island as its territory. “They don’t pay us any money for protection,” Trump said.

Taiwan is the world leader in semiconductor manufacturing, a sector critical to both consumer electronics and defense technology. Taiwan’s role as a semiconductor hub puts it at the center of U.S. technology interests.

“I believe that the majority of Taiwanese compatriots have already made a rational judgment about whether the United States wants to ‘protect’ Taiwan or ‘harm Taiwan,'” said Zhu Fenglian, spokesperson for China’s Taiwan Affairs Office (TAO). , Wednesday when asked by state media to comment on Trump’s comments.

She added that Taiwanese know that “the United States will always pursue ‘America first’ and Taiwan could turn from a pawn to an outcast at any time.”

TAO is a Chinese department responsible for cross-strait relations with Taiwan and advancing Beijing’s unification agenda.

Zhu also denounced the recent $2 billion US arms sale to Taiwan, which was approved last week and includes surface-to-air missile systems, radar equipment and related equipment. Although the US does not officially recognize Taiwan, the two sides maintain strong de facto diplomatic ties, and Washington has been ensuring self-defense for decades in accordance with the Taiwan Relations Act.

“Tell (Taiwanese President) Lai Ching-te authorities that buying weapons cannot buy security and will only make Taiwan more dangerous,” she said. She added: “Taiwan independence separatists and foreign interference cannot stop the general trend of reunification of the motherland.”

Newsweek contacted Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs with a written request for comment.

Beijing claims Taiwan as its territory and claims unification is inevitable, by force if necessary, even though the Chinese Communist Party has never ruled there.

Taiwanese Prime Minister Cho Jung-tai told lawmakers on Tuesday that he disagrees with Trump’s claim that Taiwan benefited from chips at America’s expense. “Taiwan developed its semiconductor industry on its own and made itself a world leader,” local media quoted him as saying. However, he expressed confidence that the US is a mature democracy and said Taiwan would continue to strengthen its ties with the country.

China has increased its military activities around Taiwan in recent years, including earlier this month when Chinese warships and aircraft conducted exercises and simulated a blockade around the island.