Premier Su Tseng-chang says a report claiming the U.S. aims to turn Taiwan into a “giant weapons depot” is misleading. The New York Times published the report on Wednesday, and Premier Su addressed the claim at a legislature meeting on Friday.
Su says that in the past Taiwan has needed to buy weapons from other countries, but currently has enough resources to protect itself. Still, he says Taiwan is strengthening its self-defense capabilities in case of a Chinese invasion.
Su says besides weapons, Taiwan is stockpiling grain and other essentials to prepare for possible future crises. He adds that Taiwan has enough grain reserves for one year, but natural gas and crude oil reserves are more limited.
Su says Taiwan will continue to work on boosting its self-sufficiency in many industries.