Taiwan-US cooperation ‘closer than many imagine’, defense minister says

Taiwan’s cooperation with the United States “may be far closer than many people imagine,” Defense Minister Wellington Koo said, according to a report Monday.

Koo made the remarks during a recent media interview, Taiwan’s Central News Agency reported.

He said the US Indo-Pacific Command assists Taiwan in strengthening its defense capabilities across multiple areas.

Koo added that the US Indo-Pacific strategy emphasizes “collective defense and shared responsibility,” arguing that countries should increase defense spending and strengthen their self-defense capabilities to build “collective deterrence” against any “unilateral attempt to change the status quo in the Taiwan Strait by force.”

China considers Taiwan a "breakaway province" and has not ruled out use of force to achieve full unification with the mainland, which is separated from Taiwan by the Taiwan Strait.

Taipei has insisted on its independence since 1949.