United States President Donald Trump has hinted at “consequences” if China attempts to invade Taiwan, a key ally of the US. Speaking on Sunday, Trump said that China would not invade Taiwan, at least while he is President, because it “understands the consequences.”
Trump’s remarks come just days after the two nations, among the world’s largest economies, witnessed a thaw in their trade relations following a prolonged trade war. The US President recently met his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, in South Korea on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit. The two leaders discussed several issues, though Taiwan was not mentioned during the meeting.
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What Donald Trump said
In an interview with CBS, when Trump was asked how he will act if China moves militarily on Taiwan and whether the US forces will be deployed to defend Taiwan if that happens, the US President said, “You’ll find out if it happens. And he understands the answer to that.”
When asked to further elaborate on his answer, Trump said, “This never even came up yesterday, as a subject. He never brought it up. People were a little surprised at that. He never brought it up, because he understands it, and he understands it very well.”
However, the US President refused to clarify what exactly his Chinese counterpart “understands”. Trump said he cannot give away his secrets and that the “other side knows”.
“I’m not somebody that tells you everything because you’re askin’ me a question. But they understand what’s going to happen,” he said.
“And— he has openly said, and his people have openly said at meetings, “We would never do anything while President Trump is president,” because they know the consequences,” Trump added.
Trump’s stern stand on the Taiwan issue, which is a potential flashpoint between the United States and China even though both the countries have reached an understanding on doing trade, comes without giving much away on how the US may act in case China invades Taiwan.
The ties between US and Taiwan are governed by 1979 Taiwan Relations Act, which states that it is the policy of the United States “to provide Taiwan with arms of a defensive character” and
“to maintain the capacity of the United States to resist any resort to force or other forms of coercion that would jeopardize the security, or the social or economic system, of the people on Taiwan.”
