U.S. President Donald Trump said on the 15th (local time) that he discussed in "very detail" with Chinese President Xi Jinping about the U.S. arms sales to Taiwan, raising controversy over whether the U.S. is changing its 44-year-old "Taiwan policy."
President Trump met with reporters on a plane on his way home from a three-day visit to China and answered, "The 1980s is quite a long time ago," when asked, "President Ronald Reagan promised in 1982 that the United States would not consult with China about arms sales to Taiwan, but you seem to have consulted with (President Xi).
"He (Xi Jinping) has definitely spoken about him (the sale of weapons)," he added.
President Trump also said, "So what should I do? I don't want to talk about it. There is an agreement signed in 1982?" and added, "No. We discussed arms sales to Taiwan. In fact, all discussions on arms sales were made in great detail."
"I'm going to make a decision," he said, "but, you know, the last thing we want right now is a war 9,500 miles away."
The U.S. announced "Six Assurances" for Taiwan in 1982, during the Reagan administration, and among the six items, "We will not hold prior consultations with China when selling weapons to Taiwan." The content includes a policy that China will not allow any room for intervention in arms sales to Taiwan, which the U.S. has maintained.
Even ahead of the U.S.-China summit, there were predictions that President Xi would demand President Trump at least delay arms sales to Taiwan, and attention was paid to what kind of attitude President Trump would take.
Earlier, U.S. Secretary of State Marko Rubio said in an interview with NBC shortly after the summit the previous day, "It hasn't changed. It's been quite consistent in various U.S. administrations and it's still consistent," but President Trump's remarks are expected to raise controversy and concerns among allies in the U.S. in the future.
In particular, the Trump administration unveiled its plan to sell 11.1 billion dollars (16.5 trillion won) worth of weapons to Taiwan in December last year, and is preparing another arms sales package worth at least 14 billion dollars (20.9 trillion won). President Trump's decision is expected to further increase such controversies and concerns.
In this regard, Michael Cunningham, a professor at Columbia University, said at a video discussion on the U.S.-China summit at the U.S. think tank Stimson Center, "We don't know how the discussion (about the sale of arms to Taiwan between Trump and Xi Jinping) went," adding, "We should pay attention to the announcements coming up in the coming days."
Professor Cunningham also pointed out, "If President Trump approves the sale in the next few days, it will be a huge boost of fraud against Taiwan. Now the Trump administration may have to clarify that the six major guarantees are still in effect."
However, he pointed out, "If the sale is rejected or the size of the sale or the item changes significantly, it will be a significant result and it will really grow."
Meanwhile, President Trump warned Taiwan not to pursue official independence from China in a Fox News interview released on the same day.
"We don't want war. I think China will be fine if it stays the way it is," Trump said in an interview. "But we won't watch someone say, 'Let's be independent because the U.S. supports us.'
"President Xi does not want to move for Taiwan's independence. He is very tough on Taiwan. I have not made any promises," he told reporters on the plane.
#Trump #Xi Jinping #US #China #Taiwan #Arms
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Taiwan shouldn’t just be mentioned in passing—its importance needs to be properly understood.
Without TSMC, even U.S. Big Tech wouldn’t exist as it does today.
The U.S. is essentially running a three-legged race with Taiwan.
Naturally, it makes sense not to address this too explicitly.
However, if the reports about talks with Xi Jinping are true, there would likely be some form of explanation given to Taiwan as well.
We shouldn’t be too naive and just accept what’s being reported at face value.