US President Donald Trump, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth have each given their thoughts on Russia’s war with Ukraine. There are a few proponents of US skepticism in Taiwan taking advantage of developments to write articles claiming that the US would arbitrarily abandon Ukraine. The reality is that when one understands Trump’s negotiating habits, one sees that he brings up all variables of a situation prior to discussion, using broad negotiations to take charge. As for his ultimate goals and the aces up his sleeve, he wants to keep things vague for his opponents before negotiating.
Trump’s methods are the same as any debate expert. We need to wait for the negotiations conclusions to see what his ultimate plan is for Ukraine, not resort to writing articles about Trump’s deception strategies. The key in all this is that Trump wants to establish peace negotiations in each secondary theater because his fundamental strategy is to gather resources for the Indo-Pacific region and eliminate China’s threat to humanity. He will not throw away a key strategic area that allows him to put constraints on China. Taiwan will not be abandoned, instead, the US is going to up its bet.
Even with such support, the US has always aided partners who show initiative in self-defense — Taiwan cannot become a moocher. Thus, when Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Taiwan People’s Party legislators were making massive and brutal budget cuts and freezes — including the military budget — President William Lai (賴清德) made a staunch proposal to raise national defense spending to 3 percent of GDP. Lai’s move was also meant to instill confidence and self-respect in Taiwanese. “Taiwan is a chess player, not a chess piece” in the grand game being played by global democracies to check China’s ambitions.
Lai’s resolve was immediately echoed by the US Department of State. In the past, the department’s Web site used to painfully describe the US-Taiwan relationship, saying, “we do not support Taiwan independence.” This was a holdover phrasing from the Cold War, when the US worked with China to keep the Soviet Union in check, while simultaneously remaining wary of China. Consequently, the US needed a means of curbing China — Taiwan became the nail that held China in place, forcing non-recognition of Taiwan’s true identity.
In the past, the US needed to uphold Taiwan’s existence, but did not wish to offend China. This resulted in the US unilaterally preserving Taiwan’s military and economic independence, yet officially denying its independence in the realm of foreign policy. It is no wonder the KMT continues to spout skepticism, asserting that Taiwan is merely a chess piece, because under its rule, Taiwan was literally just a pawn.
Today, Taiwan’s situation has evolved. Just days ago, the US Department of State deleted the phrase “we do not support Taiwan independence” from its Web site. While this looks like a small change, it is by no means insignificant. It represents the recognition of Taiwan as a country with a legitimate identity — a “chess player” rather than a “chess piece” drifting around a board. This move by the US is confirmation of Lai’s assertions and views.
Lai’s wide-ranging and farsighted leadership possesses a high degree of consensus with US policy and the exact same strategic goal — to topple the threat posed to humanity by an authoritarian, dictatorial China. Taiwanese do not need to drown in pro-China discourse meant to instill skepticism of the US or Trump, nor the media’s daily following of the Trump administration. In the second Trump era, all Taiwan needs to do is focus on strengthening itself. Those who help themselves receive help from others — that is the guiding principle of this Trump era.
Tommy Lin is president of the Formosa Republican Association and the Taiwan United Nations Alliance.
Translated by Tim Smith
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