TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Kuomintang (KMT) Chair Eric Chu (朱立倫) has responded to U.S. presidential candidate Donald Trump’s suggestion that Taiwan pay more for security by countering that it should not be too reliant on the U.S.

Chu said it would be wrong to completely rely on the U.S. when speaking to reporters in Yilan on Thursday (July 18), per CNA. Using Taiwan’s formal name, Chu said the Republic of China must rely on its own strength.

Chu said the KMT’s position is to be close to both the U.S. and China. He said the party achieves this by maintaining friendly relations with the U.S. and also pursuing cross-strait dialogue in the interest of peace. 

Chu’s comments are in contrast with Taiwan’s Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) of the DPP, who responded to Trump by saying Taiwan is willing to take on more responsibility to defend itself. Taiwan’s foreign ministry declined to comment on the issue.

Both Chu and Cho were responding to comments made by Trump published in a Bloomberg interview on Wednesday. He said, “I think Taiwan should pay us for defense."

Trump also repeated complaints that Taiwan had taken U.S. chip business away, after which NT$16.3 trillion (US$500 billion) in market value was wiped off Wall Street’s semiconductor index.