Taiwan is confident that the United States will remain a formidable power in Asia and can deter China from attempting an invasion of the island, Taiwan’s defense minister said, while recognizing the urgency of strengthening the island’s own defenses.

       Some of President Trump’s words and actions on Taiwan — raising tariffs, demanding that it drastically raise military spending, and accusing Taiwan of stealing the U.S. lead in making semiconductors — have magnified doubts in Taiwan about whether the United States would step in if China attacked the island. Beijing claims the island democracy is its territory and has said unification is inevitable, by force if necessary.

       But China can be held in check by the United States’ forces and alliances across Asia, and by reminding Beijing of the terrible economic cost that a war would exact, Wellington Koo, Taiwan’s defense minister, said in his most extensive interview since taking the job a year ago.

       “If China can be made to understand that the potential costs would be extremely, extremely high, then that will make it extremely hard for it to make a decision” for war, Mr. Koo said in the 80-minute interview on Wednesday with news outlets including The New York Times.

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       “That’s what the United States also thinks — that preserving the security of the Indo-Pacific, especially the stability of the Taiwan Strait, by using deterrence to avoid war, is in our shared interest,” Mr. Koo said, referring to the region where Taiwan is. He later added: “Of course, the Trump administration emphasizes ‘America first.’ But we believe that on security issues, it also emphasizes Indo-Pacific first.”

       Image

       An anti-landing drill during an annual military exercise in the Taiwanese port town of Bali in 2023. Taiwan has increased its spending on defense.Credit...Lam Yik Fei for The New York Times

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