Taiwan’s Lai signals hope for continued US support under Trump

On the second day of a highly sensitive visit to Hawaii, Lai held virtual meetings with several American politicians, including former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and delivered a keynote address that appeared to be a response to some of the criticisms that President-elect Donald Trump has directed at Taiwan.

Lai is in the midst of a seven-day Pacific tour that includes Hawaii as well as the U.S. territory of Guam. The trip is a delicate one because the U.S. and Taiwan have no formal relations, although Washington is Taipei’s staunchest ally.

U.S. support for Taiwan is critical because China, which considers Taiwan a part of the country despite having never ruled there, has promised to take the island democracy by force if necessary. Beijing has condemned Lai’s visit to Hawaii.

Taiwan has enjoyed robust support from Biden, but Trump has launched some criticisms of Taipei that have created uncertainty as to how he would respond to Chinese aggression.

Trump has publicly called for Taiwan to spend more to defend itself against the threat from China and has accused Taiwan’s world-class chip makers of stealing American jobs.

In a closed-door speech delivered in English, Lai appeared to address some of those criticisms, outlining plans to bolster the country’s self-defense. Lai promised deepening cooperation with the U.S. in the semiconductor industry.

Lev Nachman, a political scientist who teaches at National Taiwan University said Lai has been consistent since taking office earlier this year in seeking to continue his predecessor’s efforts to bind the island close to Washington.

“This looks to be more of the same," Nachman said. “If there are people that were concerned about whether or not Lai would say something provocative, this is assurance that he’s probably not going to."

While the U.S. doesn’t have a formal security treaty with Taiwan, U.S. law requires Washington to provide it with the weapons it needs to defend against military threats from China.

The day before Lai’s departure, the Biden administration approved its 18th arms sale to Taiwan, including spare parts and advanced radars for U.S.-made F-16 jet fighters, as well as tactical telecommunications equipment. The potential deal has drawn protests from Beijing.

On Monday, a Chinese military spokesperson reiterated objections, saying that it will “resolutely crush any ‘Taiwan independence’ separatists," and described such U.S. arms sales as “notorious."

Taiwan is “sacrificing the safety and well-being of its people, spending their hard-earned money to pay ‘protection fees’ to the U.S.," the spokesman said. “In the end, it’s like a moth to the flame—rushing toward destruction."

In a keynote speech on Sunday, Lai highlighted cooperation between Taiwan and the U.S. in the semiconductor industry, saying that Taiwan is “a trusted and reliable partner" to the U.S.

During his Hawaii visit, Lai made several private calls with both Democratic and Republican heavyweights, including Pelosi, with whom he discussed issues ranging from Chinese military threats to semiconductors, according to Lai’s spokeswoman.

In a 2022 trip to Taiwan, Pelosi, who was then the House Speaker, became the highest-ranking U.S. official to visit the island democracy in a quarter-century. Her arrival in Taipei prompted furious reactions from China, which launched a weeklong military exercise encircling Taiwan with missiles, jet fighters and warships.

After leaving Hawaii, Lai is scheduled to arrive on the Marshall Islands, after which he will visit Tuvalu and Palau. The three Pacific countries are among Taiwan’s few remaining official diplomatic partners. The Taiwanese president is scheduled to make another stopover on Guam, home to a large U.S. military facility, on Dec. 4 before returning home.

Write to Joyu Wang at joyu.wang@wsj.com