EXCLUSIVE: Taiwan’s foreign minister has accused China of becoming a “troublemaker,” alleging that it seeks to undermine the cross-strait status quo and intimidate nations pursuing peace.
In a conversation with Fox News Digital, Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung highlighted the escalating threat of China’s “authoritarian expansionism.” He warned that this not only jeopardizes Taiwan’s security and democratic framework but also poses significant risks to peace and stability in the broader Indo-Pacific region and beyond.
Lin pointed out that last June, China’s aircraft carriers, Liaoning and Shandong, maneuvered beyond the second island chain. This marked China’s first dual-carrier deployment in the Western Pacific, underscoring Beijing’s ambitions that stretch well beyond Taiwan. Such actions, he said, increasingly endanger the security and stability of the Indo-Pacific region and the global community.
Taiwan’s Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung addresses the press during an international briefing in Taipei on July 19, 2024. (Photo by I-Hwa Cheng/Afp via Getty Images)
The People’s Republic of China, established in 1949, has never governed Taiwan. Known as the Republic of China, Taiwan is officially recognized by eleven small nations and the Vatican. Despite decades of separate governance, Beijing dismisses this reality, maintaining that Taiwan is an “integral and sacred part of China’s territory.”
Recent years have seen China adopt a more aggressive stance towards Taiwan’s independent governance, especially as President Xi Jinping has eliminated term limits and consolidated power. Whereas previous rhetoric included the notion of “peaceful unification,” Beijing now openly hints at the use of force.
In 2024, Xi directed the Chinese military to complete preparations for a Taiwan operation by 2027. Most defense analysts agree that an invasion would be costly, bloody and highly risky for China, Taiwan and any countries that come to Taiwan’s aid, such as the United States or Japan.
Images newly released by the Department capture a PLA fighter jet closing in at a high speed to a distance of just 50 feet underneath the wing of a U.S. aircraft. The PLA operator then conducted a barrel roll around and below the U.S. aircraft, causing the U.S. pilot to perform defensive procedures to prevent a collision. (Department of Defense)
Lin echoed those warnings that a conflict in the Taiwan Strait would reverberate worldwide. “Peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait are vital to global security and prosperity,” Lin said, noting that approximately 90% of the world’s most advanced semiconductors are produced in Taiwan and that roughly 50% of global commercial shipping passes through the strait. He added that Taiwan is grateful to the United States and other partners for resisting China’s efforts to unilaterally alter the status quo.
The foreign minister said Taiwan’s central role in geopolitics, technology and supply chains ensures that 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 American economic security.
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 April 12, 2018. (Reuters/Stringer)
“There is clear strategic continuity between the policies of President Trump’s first and second terms,” said Lin, adding that Taiwan’s 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 U.S. Congress continue to demonstrate a steadfast commitment to safeguarding peace and security across the Indo-Pacific region,” Lin said, “which was emphasized in the 2025 National Security Strategy (NSS).” The foreign minister also noted that “the recent NSS released by the Trump administration underscored Taiwan’s geopolitical importance as a link between the Northeast and Southeast Asian theaters.”
Chinese President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, reviews the troops during his inspection of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army PLA garrison stationed in the Macao Special Administrative Region, south China, Dec. 20, 2024. (Li Gang/Xinhua via Getty Images)
Lin said Taiwan is working to rebalance trade with the United States while strengthening strategic cooperation on AI. “The Trump administration’s AI Action Plan,” he said, “underscores the importance of innovation, infrastructure and international cooperation for AI development.”
He also touted Taiwan’s growing investments in the U.S., 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 U.S.. “Against the backdrop of U.S.-China strategic competition and the restructuring of global supply chains,” said Lin, “Taiwan’s enterprises understand the remarkable potential of investing in the United States.”
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 foreign minister said Taiwan appreciates increasing American military support, highlighting that “Last December, the United States approved an arms sales package to Taiwan totaling $11 billion as well as signing the Taiwan Assurance Implementation Act and the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2026. These measures underscore the firm bipartisan support for Taiwan in the U.S. government.”
But he stressed that Taiwan is accelerating its own defense investments. “Last year, [Taiwan] President Lai Ching-te announced that Taiwan’s defense budget would increase to over 3% of GDP by 2026 and rise to 5% by 2030,” he said. While parts of that plan have faced resistance in the opposition-led legislature, both major parties have publicly backed closer security cooperation with the United States and a stronger deterrence posture.
