US President Donald Trump has kept China out of decision about arms sales to Taiwan, a Taiwanese national security official said yesterday while highlighting steady US-Taiwan policy signals following Trump’s meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平).
Trump on Friday wrapped up his state visit in China during which he met with Xi.
The official, who declined to be named, said that to understand the US policy stance on Taiwan following the Trump-Xi meeting and subsequent remarks by Trump, it is best viewed through a series of coordinated statements from the White House, the Department of State and Trump himself.
Photo: AFP
Taken together, the messages have remained broadly consistent, which are that there is “no change in US policy toward Taiwan, maintaining the status quo is a priority, and that arms sales are negotiated solely with Taipei,” they said.
Referring to US Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s remarks on Thursday that there has been no change in US policy toward Taiwan, the Taiwanese official said Rubio offered the most direct confirmation from the administration following the meeting.
The official said that the White House also amplified Rubio’s comments on social media, and Trump, in a separate Fox News interview, also said that “nothing has changed.”
With the president and secretary of state making similar statements within 24 hours, the message was unambiguous, the official said.
Trump in media interviews repeatedly referenced Xi raising the issue of Taiwanese independence, prompting some interpretations that he was drawing a red line on Taiwan in line with Beijing’s position, they said.
However, a closer reading of the full context, including Trump’s call for China to “cool down,” suggested that he was less focused on defining Taiwan’s status, and more concerned about avoiding any moves that could disrupt the “status quo”, they said.
Trump’s comments that he does not want to see Taiwan declare independence, or the US “travel 9,500 miles to fight a war,” reflected an effort to avoid being pulled into a conflict that would undermine stability and core US interests, rather than an attempt to define Taiwan’s political status on Beijing’s behalf, the official added.
On arms sales, the official said that when Trump was asked whether he would approve more than US$10 billion in deals, he responded that he “may do it, may not do it,” declining to reveal the key factors behind any decision. Addressing Rubio’s remarks about how arms sales were not a major focus of the meeting and that Trump made it clear that he offered Xi no response or commitments on the matter, in addition to Trump telling the media that he would have to talk to the person that’s “running Taiwan” before making his decision on the arms deals, the Taiwanese official said that in this context, the US response is more of a warning to Beijing not to disrupt the “status quo.”
The official said it has been made clear, including by Trump himself, that despite a range of requests from Xi, there was no response.
“Trump did not allow Xi to negotiate or haggle with him over Taiwan arms sales,” they said.
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