Photo/Illutration TSMC’s headquarters in Hsinchu in Taiwan (Asahi Shimbun file photo)

TAIPEI--Taiwan should pay the United States for its defense as it does not give the country anything, U.S. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump said, sending shares of Taiwanese chip manufacturer TSMC down on Wednesday.

“I know the people very well, respect them greatly. They did take about 100% of our chip business. I think, Taiwan should pay us for defense,” Trump said in interview with Bloomberg Businessweek on June 25 but published on Tuesday.

“You know, we’re no different than an insurance company. Taiwan doesn’t give us anything.”

TSMC is the dominant maker of advanced chips used in everything from AI applications to smartphones and fighter jets, and analyst believe any conflict over Taiwan would decimate the world economy.

The U.S. is Taiwan’s most important international supporter and arms supplier, but there is no formal defense agreement. The U.S. is however bound by law to provide Taiwan with the means to defend itself.

Taiwan, which China views as its own territory, has complained of repeated Chinese military activity over the past four years as Beijing seeks to pressure the democratically governed island which rejects China’s sovereignty claims.

U.S. President Joe Biden has upset the Chinese government with comments that appeared to suggest the U.S. would defend Taiwan if it were attacked, a deviation from a long-held U.S. position of “strategic ambiguity.”

Washington and Taipei have had no official diplomatic or military relationship since 1979, when the U.S. switched recognition to Beijing.

There was no immediate reaction from Taiwan’s government, nor TSMC which is currently in its quiet period ahead of its second quarter earnings report on Thursday.

TSMC SHARES DOWN

Shares in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Ltd (TSMC), the world’s largest contract chipmaker and a major Apple and Nvidia supplier, fell more than 2% on Wednesday morning. The broader market was down around 0.4%.

TSMC is spending billions building new factories overseas, including $65 billion on three plants in the U.S. state of Arizona, though it says most manufacturing will remain in Taiwan.

Taiwan also has a backlog worth some $19 billion of arms deliveries from the United States, which U.S. officials and politicians have repeatedly pledged to speed up.

Since 2022, Taiwan has complained of delays in deliveries of U.S. weapons such as Stinger anti-aircraft missiles, as manufacturers focused on supplying Ukraine to help it battle invading Russian forces.

In April, the U.S. Congress had passed a sweeping foreign aid package which includes arms support for the island, after House Republican leaders abruptly switched course and allowed a vote on the $95 billion in mostly military aid for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan and U.S. partners in the Indo-Pacific.

China held two days of war games around the island shortly after President Lai Ching-te took office in May, saying it was “punishment” for his inauguration speech, which Beijing denounced as being full of separatist content.

But China has also been using grey zone warfare against Taiwan, wielding irregular tactics to exhaust a foe by keeping them continually on alert without resorting to open combat. This includes sending balloons over the island and almost daily air force missions into the skies near Taiwan.

China has never renounced the use of force to bring Taiwan under its control. Lai, who says only the Taiwanese people can decide their future, has repeatedly offered talks but been rebuffed.

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