Taiwan Ready To Discuss With New US Government Under Trump To Strengthen Its Defenses

President Lai Ching-te while reviewing preparations for Taiwan's annual military exercise. (Twitter/@ChingteLai)

JAKARTA - Taiwan's senior security official said the country currently does not have a "concrete list" containing a new arms deal to be submitted to the new US government to be led by Donald Trump, but is ready to discuss ways to increase the country's defenses.

Democratically-ruled Taiwan, claimed by China, will probably make a big new arms deal early in the next US Administration, to show they take President-elect Donald Trump's comments seriously, Taiwan must pay "protection" money, a number of parties familiar with the government's thoughts told Reuters. November 14th.

"Right now we don't have such a concrete list, but we welcome suggestions from all parties, with the most important thing being how to increase self-defense capacity," a senior Taiwanese security official told reporters in Taipei, who asked not to be named in order to speak more honestly.

"Taiwan is very willing to discuss further with all partners who think, especially the US, about ways to continue to strengthen Taiwan's defense capacity," the official said.

Meanwhile, the Financial Times reported this week that the Government in Taipei is considering buying a large package of weapons from the US to demonstrate its commitment to the island's defense.

Taiwan, whose government rejects China's claim to sovereignty, has faced repeated military pressure from Beijing, including a new chapter last month in a series of war games.

Taipei's biggest weapons supplier is Washington. The country had delayed orders worth about USD 20 billion and last month announced orders for nearly USD 2 billion for the missile system.

China opposes the sale, which includes radar and missile systems, and has urged the US to "immediately stop Taiwan's weapons".

Taiwan's total defense spending alone has soared to around 80 percent to date, since the ruling Democratic Progressive Party took office in 2016, the official said.

"Our commitment to self-defense will only get stronger, not weaker," the official said.

The Taiwanese government routinely holds discussions with major US parties and think tank about whether the island's current military hardware and software is effective enough to counter the Chinese attack, another Taiwanese security official said on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the matter.

The discussions included whether Taiwan should increase the number of its drone fleet capable of attacking high-value Chinese military assets, the official said.

"Such a review is commonplace," the official said, adding Taiwan had not yet started a new round of arms negotiations with the US.

"There are many discussions and recommendations. We welcome all the useful things to improve Taiwan's defenses," he added.