TAIPEI (AFP) — Taiwan’s foreign minister said Friday the self-ruled island must rely on itself for defense after United States presidential candidate Donald Trump insisted Taipei “should pay” Washington for defense in the event of a conflict with neighboring China.

China claims Taiwan as part of its territory and has in recent years stepped up its military presence and saber-rattling rhetoric towards the democratic island.

The US has stepped up military aid and weapons sales to Taiwan to counter China, but Trump said earlier this week the island “should pay” Washington for defense.

In response Friday, Taiwan’s newly minted foreign minister Lin Chia-lung said Taipei took the former president’s comments “very seriously.”

“Everyone should have this consensus that the threat is China,” he told reporters in his first briefing with foreign media since his appointment to the cabinet of Taiwan’s new President Lai Ching-te.

“As far as national defense is concerned, we must rely on ourselves,” he said, adding Taiwan has increased its military budget from 2 percent to 2.5 percent of its gross domestic product in eight years.

“I expect it will continue to increase,” he said, adding that the budget will go not just to purchasing more weapons but also instating military reforms.