EXCLUSIVE: Taiwan’s foreign minister said China “has clearly become a troublemaker, maliciously trying to disrupt the cross-strait status quo and intimidate peaceful countries.”
“Last June,” Lin said, “[Chinese] The aircraft carriers Liaoning and Shandong maneuvered beyond the second island chain, marking China’s first simultaneous deployment with two aircraft carriers in the western Pacific. These developments demonstrate that Beijing’s expansionist ambitions extend far beyond Taiwan and pose an increasingly serious threat to the security and stability of the Indo-Pacific region and the world.
General from Taiwan warns that Chinese military exercises could be a preparation for blockade or war
Taiwanese Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung answers media questions during an international press conference in Taipei on July 19, 2024. (Photo by I-Hwa Cheng/AFP via Getty Images)
Communist China was founded in 1949 and has ruled Taiwan for less than a day. Taiwan is officially known as the Republic of China (ROC) and is currently recognized by eleven minor countries, plus the Holy See. Beijing nevertheless rejects the reality of nearly 80 years of separate rule, describing Taiwan as a “sacred and inseparable part of Chinese territory.”
China’s attitude toward independently ruled Taiwan has hardened in recent years as President Xi Jinping has lifted term limits and consolidated near-total power. While previous Chinese statements spoke of ‘peaceful unification’, Beijing is now openly threatening to use force.
In 2024, Xi ordered the Chinese military to complete preparations for an operation in Taiwan by 2027. Most defense analysts agree that an invasion would be costly, bloody and very risky for China, Taiwan and any countries that come to Taiwan’s aid, such as the United States or Japan.
The military exercises mobilizing China’s navy, army, air force and coast guard are seen as punishment for Taiwan’s refusal to submit to Beijing’s rule. (Daniel Ceng/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Lin reiterated warnings that a conflict in the Taiwan Strait would have global resonance. “Peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait are vital to global security and prosperity,” Lin said, noting that about 90% of the world’s most advanced semiconductors are produced in Taiwan and about 50% of global commercial shipping passes through the strait. He added that Taiwan is grateful to the United States and other partners for opposing China’s attempts to unilaterally change the status quo.
The foreign minister said Taiwan’s central role in geopolitics, technology and supply chains means Washington places a high priority on cross-strait stability. He said U.S. policymakers understand that Taiwan’s semiconductor industry and related supply chains are critical to U.S. economic security.
CHINA SURROUNDS TAIWAN WITH WAR SHOWS, JETS IN THE LARGEST MILITARY EXERCISES INVOLVED
A nuclear-powered Type 094A Jin-class ballistic missile submarine of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Navy is seen during a military display in the South China Sea on April 12, 2018. (Reuters/Stringer)
“There is clear strategic continuity between the policies of President Trump’s first and second terms,” Lin said, adding that the Taiwanese government will seek ways to coordinate with the United States “through values-based, alliance and economic diplomacy.”
Commenting on Washington’s Indo-Pacific strategy, Lin said: “The Trump administration and the US Congress continue to demonstrate an steadfast commitment to ensuring peace and security in the Indo-Pacific region,” Lin said, “which was emphasized in the 2025 National Security Strategy (NSS).” The Secretary of State also noted that “the Trump administration’s recent NSS release underscored Taiwan’s geopolitical importance as a link between the Northeast and Southeast Asian theaters.”
Chinese President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and chairman of the Central Military Commission, assesses troops during his inspection of the PLA garrison of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army stationed in the Macau Special Administrative Region, southern China, December 20, 2024. (Li Gang/Xinhua via Getty Images)
Lin said Taiwan is working to rebalance trade with the United States while strengthening strategic cooperation in AI. “The Trump Administration’s AI Action Plan,” he said, “underlines the importance of innovation, infrastructure and international cooperation for the development of AI.”
He also praised Taiwan’s growing investments in the US, including a $165 billion commitment by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) in Arizona, and said Taipei is working to make it easier for Taiwanese companies trying to invest in the US. “Against the backdrop of the strategic competition between the US and China and the restructuring of global supply chains,” Lin said, “Taiwan’s enterprises understand the remarkable potential of investing in the United States.”
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Lin Chia-lung, now Taiwan’s foreign minister, speaks to reporters as then-cabinet spokesman on Wednesday, March 24, 2004. (David Hartung/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
The Secretary of State said Taiwan appreciates increasing U.S. military support, highlighting that “last December, the United States approved an arms sales package to Taiwan totaling $11 billion, as well as signed the Taiwan Assurance Implementation Act and the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2026. These measures underscore the strong bipartisan support for Taiwan in the U.S. government.”
But he emphasized that Taiwan is accelerating its own defense investments. “Last year, [Taiwan] President Lai Ching-te has announced that Taiwan’s defense budget would increase to over 3% of GDP by 2026 and to 5% by 2030,” he said. While parts of that plan have faced resistance in the opposition-led legislature, both major parties have publicly expressed support for closer security cooperation with the United States and a stronger deterrence posture.
