TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Deterrence is key to preventing a Taiwan Strait conflict, Foreign Minister Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) said in a recent interview with Foreign Policy Magazine.

“We need to be able to deter the Chinese from further expansion — especially going after Taiwan with military force,” Wu said. If Taiwan is not able to maintain its freedom and democracy, the Indo-Pacific will not be safe, he said.

Taiwan has seen from the failure of deterring Russia’s invasion of Ukraine that it needs to be serious about this issue, the foreign minister said. If China is successful in seizing Taiwan, Japan and the Philippines would be the next targets, he added.

Wu said that Taiwan is committed to ensuring regional peace but its exclusion from the U.N. makes it difficult to keep this promise. He recognized that there is growing international attention about maintaining peace in the Taiwan Strait and said the U.N. would be the best forum to discuss the issue.

Therefore, he said, preventing Taiwan from joining the organization is “immoral, unjust, and it’s something we have to make change to.”

In regard to Taiwan’s semiconductor prowess, Wu said the nation is “very confident” in its supply chain, which took over 40 years to become what it is today. There has to be an abundant supply of engineers, associated industries coming together, and a lot of government investment, he said, which cannot be replaced by any other country.

However, he said that if other nations such as Germany, Japan, or India, want to develop their own semiconductor production, Taiwan would be “very happy” to help them.

Commenting on U.S. presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy’s controversial remarks on America’s defense commitments to Taiwan, Wu said they were “not in line” with the mainstream view on U.S.-Taiwan relations or how the U.S. should continue aiding Taiwan with deterrence against Chinese military coercion.

Ramaswamy has been vocal about only defending Taiwan until the U.S. achieves semiconductor independence.

China’s increased military activities in the Taiwan Strait in recent years have prompted Taiwan to bolster its asymmetric defense strategy. This was evident at the 2023 Taipei Aerospace and Defense Technology Exhibition.

An entire pavilion was dedicated to displaying 10 of the nation's latest advanced drones, including the Loitering Unmanned Aircraft Type I and the Chien Hsiang anti-radiation loitering munition.