By Michael Martina, Ben Blanchard and Yimou Lee

WASHINGTON/TAIPEI (Reuters) – Taiwan can show it is serious about Donald Trump’s demand for “protection” money with big new arms deals, showing it is not looking for a free ride and is determined to show him to Washington for its determination to spend to defend itself. .

Trump, who won a second term as president this week, unnerved democratically governed Taiwan, claimed by China, by saying Taiwan should pay the United States for its defense and that he had taken away the United States’ semiconductor business.

“Watch for Taiwan, on the defense side, to try to start engaging them in a big arms package, to do something significant, very big,” said Rupert Hammond-Chambers, president of the US-Taiwan Business Council, which It helps broker defense exchanges between Washington and Taipei, he told Reuters, adding it could arrive in the first quarter of next year.

“But think of it as a down payment, to get attention,” he said. “They will stack several large platforms and purchase large quantities of ammunition.”

The United States is already Taiwan’s largest arms supplier, although Taiwan has complained about an order book worth about $20 billion. A new order for nearly $2 billion in missile systems was announced last month.

Taiwan, whose government rejects Beijing’s sovereignty claims, has faced repeated military pressure from China, including a new round of war games last month.

Taiwan’s Foreign Ministry, in a written report to lawmakers on Thursday, said China could try to test the United States during the presidential transition with more drills, hacking attacks or other forms of psychological warfare.

A former U.S. official said he considered it “very likely” that Taiwan would move quickly to try to negotiate a major arms deal with the United States to get the Trump administration on its side and counter any lingering inclination it has that Taiwan fleeced the United States in semiconductor matter.

“They will want to solidify their loyalty quickly to ensure Trump’s interests,” the person said of Taiwan, speaking on condition of anonymity to speak freely.

Taiwan’s defense pact with Washington ended in 1979 along with official diplomatic relations, so it does not directly pay for US forces to be based on its soil, unlike Japan and South Korea.

On Thursday, Taiwanese Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung avoided answering questions from reporters about what protection money would look like for the United States, but told lawmakers that defense spending, now around 2, 5% of GDP, would increase.

“The trend is for it to continue increasing,” he said.

Taiwan’s Defense Ministry referred to Reuters to Wednesday’s comments by Deputy Defense Minister Po Horng-huei in Parliament that Defense Minister Wellington Koo had made it abundantly clear that Taiwan’s determination to defend itself will never change.

“It is our responsibility to maintain stability in the Taiwan Strait,” Po said.

FRIENDS OF TAIWAN

Several names being considered for senior positions in the new US administration are people who strongly support Taiwan, including former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who after leaving office called for formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan, and former National Security Adviser Robert O’Brien. , who visited Taiwan last year.

O’Brien on Wednesday tweeted his thanks to Taiwan President Lai Ching-te for his congratulations to Trump, applauding Taiwan officials, although Lai’s office said there were no plans for a call between him and Trump.

A Taiwan-based security source, who also spoke on condition of anonymity given the sensitivity of the matter, said that if people like O’Brien or Pompeo got top jobs it would be “fantastic” for Taiwan, but that Taiwan also needed to prove it. took defense spending seriously.

“Trump asking for protection money is probably the push Taiwan needs to really increase its defense spending,” the official said, adding that a new arms deal in the new year would be a great way to show Trump that I would do it.

Trump gained supporters in Taiwan during his first term, first by talking to then-President Tsai Ing-wen shortly after winning the election, and then with arms sales, cabinet visits to Taipei and a hard line toward China.

Vincent Chao, who was a spokesman for Lai’s presidential campaign and is a frequent visitor to the United States, said that all of the potential candidates being publicly discussed for Trump’s Secretary of State and Defense Secretary are considered “friends of Taiwan”.

“When it comes to Trump, people say it’s about what he does, not what he says,” Chao said, referring to Trump’s comments about Taiwan during the campaign. “There is no need for Taiwanese to worry. We must be confident.”

(Reporting by Michael Martina, Ben Blanchard and Yimou Lee; Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan)