TAIPEI (Reuters) – The United States will continue its friendly approach toward Taiwan after the presidential election and Taiwan will work to prevent China from “creating problems” during the transition, a senior official said on Wednesday Taiwanese security.

Donald Trump, the Republican candidate for the presidency of the United States and neck and neck in the polls with Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris, said during the election campaign that Taiwan should pay to be protected and also accused the island of steal the US semiconductor market.

Taiwan, a democratically governed country that China considers its own territory, has faced a sustained campaign of military pressure from Beijing over the past five years, including four major rounds of war exercises over the past five years. of the last two years.

Speaking to reporters at Parliament, Director General of Taiwan’s National Security Bureau Tsai Ming-yen stressed that the election result was still unknown.

“As for relations across the Taiwan Strait, we believe the United States will continue its current approach of coercing China and being friendly toward Taiwan,” he said.

Taiwan will continue communication with the current administration focusing on key cooperation issues “in the next phase” and work with international partners to exchange information on China’s military intentions and movements during the transition, added Tsai.

“This is about preventing Chinese communists from taking advantage of the U.S. government’s transition and creating unrest during the transition,” he said.

China’s Taiwan Affairs Office did not immediately respond to request for comment.

Also speaking to the media in Parliament, Taiwan’s Economic Minister Kuo Jyh-huei said the government was paying close attention to the elections and preparing, regardless of who wins.

However, economic ties between Taiwan and the United States run deep and will not be easy to change, and the impact on the economy will be small no matter who the next president is, he added.

Taiwan’s government rejects China’s sovereignty claims, saying only the island’s people can decide its future.

The United States is Taiwan’s largest international donor and arms supplier, even without formal diplomatic relations.

(Reporting by Ben Blanchard and Jeanny Kao; editing by Michael Perry)