Third-party presidential candidate Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) says that maintaining a strong U.S.-Taiwan relationship is key to opening communication with China on cross-strait issues. Ko made the comments during a press conference for international media on Friday.
Ko says that both the ruling DPP and main opposition KMT parties have handled cross-strait issues the wrong way, which is why neither side has garnered majority support in Taiwan. Ko says he believes in the principles laid out by U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on dealing with China. Blinken has previously characterized the U.S. position toward China as “competitive when it should be, collaborative when it can be, and adversarial when it must be.”
Using this framing, Ko says that the DPP has been adversarial when it could be cooperative, and the KMT has been cooperative when it should be adversarial. Ko says one of his main advantages is that he is currently the only candidate acceptable to both China and the United States.
Ko says he is also the candidate most friendly towards Japan, and says his son is studying in Japan. He says he supports the creation of a three-way defense communication platform between Taiwan, Japan, and the U.S.
Ko says that while Taiwan is not a match for the Chinese military, its goal should be to make China pay a substantial price if they decide to attack Taiwan. He says if elected he would seek to raise the military budget to 3% of GDP, and would not replace any of the major leadership in the military, police, or intelligence agencies in his first term.