TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Helping Taiwan strengthen its self-defense and resilience is one of the most important things the US can do to protect its interests in the Indo-Pacific, Ely Ratner, former assistant secretary of defense for Indo-Pacific security affairs, said Wednesday.

Speaking at the Global Taiwan Institute Symposium, Ratner said this strategy has been proven in war games and is common sense. However, US actions toward Taiwan under the Trump administration appear “mixed.”

He pointed to Washington’s denial of President Lai Ching-te’s (賴清德) request to transit through the US in July and the rejection of more than US$400 million (NT$12 billion) in military aid to Taiwan earlier this month.

These developments suggest indecision in Washington’s stance on supporting Taiwan and may be linked to its China policy, Ratner said. He added that Beijing may read US inconsistency as a lack of commitment and could test the Trump administration with gray-zone tactics.

Nevertheless, there are officials within the government who strongly believe in the commitment under the Taiwan Relations Act and in America’s role in the Indo-Pacific, he said.

With the upcoming release of this year’s National Defense Strategy, the Pentagon’s Indo-Pacific priorities should become clearer, he added.