US presidential candidate Donald Trump has cast doubts on the United States' military commitment to Taiwan, saying Wednesday that Taipei "should pay us for protection" against China.

In an interview with Bloomberg Businessweek, Trump said he knows the people of Taiwan "very well" and "respect[s] them greatly," but said that "they did take about 100 percent of our chip business" and therefore "should pay us for defense."

He said that in the context of the increasing tensions in the region, the US is "no different than an insurance company" for Taiwan, which "doesn't give us anything."

Trump was responding to a question about whether the US would help defend Taiwan in the event of a Chinese invasion.

Taiwan broke away from mainland China following the communist victory in the Chinese Civil War in 1949 and the establishment of the People's Republic of China.

But Beijing considers the island as a part of its territory and has vowed to reunite it with the mainland – with force if necessary.

While the US doesn't officially maintain diplomatic ties with Taiwan — maintaining instead a policy of strategic ambiguity to avoid provoking China — Washington is Taipei's most important military backer.

The US, for example, recently passed a billion-dollar support package for the self-governing island.

Taiwan says 'willing to take on more responsibility'

Acknowledging Trump's comments, Taiwanese Premier Cho Jung-tai pointed out that Taipei had boosted its defense budget in recent years.

"We are willing to take on more responsibility; we are defending ourselves and ensuring our security," he told reporters.

"We are also clear that Taiwan-US relations have been very strong in recent years. Maintaining peace and stability of the Taiwan Strait and Indo-Pacific region is our common responsibility and goal."

Taiwan's Democratic Progressive Party Secretary-General Lin Yu-chang added: "China is the biggest threat to the United States; this is the consensus of the Democratic and Republican parties. Now is the best era of Taiwan-US relations."

Taiwan: A semiconductor powerhouse

The fate of Taiwan, a 36,200 square-kilometer island that is about ten times smaller than Germany, is important for the global economy due to its semiconductor industry.

The Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) and the United Microelectronics Corporation (UMC) are two of the largest producers of computer chips in the world and count tech giants like Apple among their biggest clients.

TSMC is currently working to diversify its production geographically, including by setting up new factories in Germany. However, most of its production capacity remains in Taiwan.

mf/rm (Reuters, AFP)