Located roughly 100 miles from China’s coast, Taiwan is a tiny island in the Pacific that looms large in U.S. security interests, particularly in the Indo-Pacific region. The United States provides weapons to Taiwan for its self-defense. However, Washington has for decades maintained a deliberately ambiguous policy on whether it would militarily come to Taiwan’s aid if Beijing decides to invade the island, which China has regarded as a rebel region since around 1949.
Former President Donald Trump said during his latest interview that he did not discuss the matter of Taiwan during his high-profile meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in South Korea last Wednesday. The two leaders reached deals on trade as they spent over 1 ½ hours in conversation during their first encounter of Trump’s second term. However, the controversial topic of Taiwan “never came up,” Trump said.
“He never brought it up. People were a little surprised at that,” the president told CBS News host Norah O’Donnell. “But they understand what’s gonna happen.”
When questioned on whether he would order U.S. forces into action if China moved militarily on Taiwan, Trump responded, “You’ll find out if it happens, and he understands the answer to that.”
“I can’t give away my secrets. The other side knows,” he added when pressed for further details.
Trump’s latest comments echo statements he made during an August interview. “I will never do it [invade Taiwan] as long as you’re president; President Xi told me that, and I said, well, I appreciate that,” Trump told Fox News’ Brett Baier aboard Air Force One.
The president emphasized the strength of the United States military, saying, “Nobody’s going to mess with the U.S. because of the force of military power Washington possesses.”
“First of all, the United States is the strongest military power in the world by far. It’s not even close,” Trump said. “We have the best equipment. We have the best of everything, and nobody’s going to mess with that. And I don’t see that at all with President Xi. I think we’re going to get along very well.”
Meanwhile, Taiwan sees its future as ‘closely linked’ to the ‘destiny of Ukraine,’ according to its foreign minister, highlighting the island’s strategic and geopolitical significance.
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/policy/foreign-policy/3872173/trump-xi-china-promise-taiwan-invasion/
