Donald Trump plans to accelerate the delivery of US weapons and military hardware to Taiwan, according to incoming national security advisor Mike Waltz.

Speaking at the US Institute of Peace in Washington, Waltz highlighted a backlog of over $20bn in arms and equipment that Taiwan has paid for, which the US aims to expedite as part of a deterrence strategy.

Trump is also expected to continue strengthening partnerships and alliances across the Asia-Pacific region having in the past few days once again welcomed politicians from Japan to the Taiwanese capital; Tokyo seeing the regional threat from China as an issue facing all democratic nations in East and Southeast Asia.

Waltz commended the outgoing Biden administration’s efforts in fostering trilateral dialogues involving South Korea, Japan, the Philippines and the United States, as well as emphasising the importance of ties with India as a critical future partnership.

Taiwan has been self-governed since 1949 when Kuomintang forces, led by Chiang Kai-shek, first fled to the island following defeat in China’s civil war.

The island retains symbols of the Republic of China that existed before the Communists took power on the mainland even as Beijing regards Taiwan as one of its provinces - a position supported politically at least by most countries around the world, including Russia.

The United States severed diplomatic ties with Taiwan in 1979 in favour of establishing relations with China. In the decades since, while adhering to the so-called One China policy, Washington maintains informal ties with Taiwan and supplies it with arms.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry has reported that the total value of US arms shipments to Taiwan has exceeded $70bn in recent years.