A senior Taiwanese diplomat said on Monday that Taiwan would welcome a direct phone call between U.S. President Donald Trump and Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te, as Taipei works to ease concerns sparked by Trump’s comments following his summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
During their meeting in Beijing last week, Trump and Xi discussed Taiwan, which China claims as its own. Xi reportedly warned of potential conflict if the issue is not handled appropriately. China has not ruled out the use of force to bring the self-governed island under its control.
Trump made a range of different pronouncements about Taiwan, including that he was undecided on new arms sales, suggesting he might speak to Lai, and that the U.S. was “not looking to have somebody say, ‘Let’s go independent'”.
A direct conversation between a sitting U.S. president and Taiwan’s leader has not occurred since Washington shifted diplomatic recognition to Beijing from Taipei in 1979.
Taiwan Deputy Foreign Minister Chen Ming-chi told reporters that Trump’s remarks had “caused some unnecessary concern” in Taiwan even if the government believed that “nothing has changed.”
Chen said that if Trump wants to speak with Lai then Taiwan would welcome it, if that is indeed what he meant.
A U.S. State Department spokesperson said that as Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said, “our Taiwan policy remains unchanged.” They did not elaborate.
A White House fact sheet released on Sunday about Trump’s trip made no mention of Taiwan, focusing mostly on trade, with brief references to North Korea and the war with Iran.
Arms Sales And ‘Independence’
Washington is traditionally Taiwan’s most important international backer and arms supplier, and is bound by the 1979 Taiwan Relations Act to provide the island with the means to defend itself.
The vagueness of Trump’s comments on “independence”, which the White House has not elaborated on, has caused debate in Taiwan as to whether he was saying he actively opposed a formal declaration of independence.
Taiwan’s government has not announced any plans to declare a new state different to the Republic of China, its formal name.
Lai on Sunday reiterated his stance that the Republic of China is already an independent country that does not belong to Beijing and that “there is no so-called ‘Taiwan independence’ issue.”
(With inputs from Reuters)
