The "Xi-Trump Summit" is about to take place, and Taiwan’s Foreign Minister Joseph Wu said, when asked, that he is confident in US-Taiwan relations.
At the invitation of Chinese President Xi Jinping, US President Donald Trump will visit China from Wednesday (13th) to Friday (15th).
Speaking to the media before attending the Legislative Yuan's Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee on Monday, Wu said: "The government is closely monitoring the upcoming Xi-Trump summit. Whether through public statements by the US government or non-public channels of communication, we have maintained ongoing communication with the US. We are confident in the stable development of US-Taiwan relations."
Wu emphasized, "The US government has repeatedly stated that it will not change its policy toward Taiwan."
In addition, regarding foreign media reports that the US is disappointed with the reduction in Taiwan’s defense budget, Wu said he hopes the Legislative Yuan’s parties can work together to address the issue, allowing the defense budget to support Taiwan’s security policy, as maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait is a common goal for Taiwan and like-minded countries.
He said: "Maintaining peace requires strength, and we must demonstrate defense capabilities to deter aggression—especially as the Chinese Communist Party is now focusing on military expansion and authoritarian expansion."
On Friday (8th) last week, Taiwan’s Legislative Yuan passed the third reading of a special defense budget bill led by the two major opposition parties, the KMT and TPP, with a total of NT$780 billion (about RM97.6 billion), which only covers US arms purchases with issued price quotes, making it two-thirds the amount originally proposed by the DPP government.
At the end of last year, Taiwan’s Executive Yuan proposed a special defense budget for the next eight years totaling NT$1.25 trillion (about RM160 billion), covering US arms purchases, commercial procurements, and manufacturing commissioned in Taiwan. However, this arms purchase plan has repeatedly been held up in the Legislative Yuan over the past few months and has not yet been approved.