TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – US Senate Armed Services Committee Chair Roger Wicker said Saturday he believed Taiwan and the US would manufacture weapons together.

He was speaking at a news conference at the end of a two-day visit to Taiwan with fellow committee member Senator Deb Fischer, per CNA. Their itinerary included meetings with President Lai Ching-te (賴清德), legislators from three parties, and Defense Minister Wellington Koo (顧立雄).

When he was asked about the joint production of drones, Wicker said there would be efforts to manufacture weapons together, dependent on skills existing on both sides of the Pacific. He said the US was open to suggestions and to innovation on this issue. Taiwan had in the past already asked for the joint production of defense systems, he said.

Turning to the Trump administration’s tariffs, Wicker emphasized that they would not influence the defensive alliance and the friendship between the US and Taiwan. The US was determined to remain a friend to the Taiwanese people, who held sovereign rights and democracy, he added. Wicker said the US was still conducting talks about tariff levels with many countries around the world.

Wicker and Fischer left Taiwan later Saturday afternoon. His visit was the first one by a chair of the Senate Armed Services Committee since 2016.