Kathmandu, May 16: Donald Trump has warned Taiwan against formally declaring independence from China, saying he does not want to see any move toward official separation. \
Speaking to Fox News on Friday at the end of a two-day summit in Beijing with Chinese President Xi Jinping, Trump said, “I don’t want to see anyone declare independence.”
Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te has previously said that Taiwan already considers itself a sovereign nation and therefore sees no need for a formal declaration of independence.
China claims Taiwan as part of its territory and has not ruled out the use of force to take control of the island. Trump had earlier said he had made no commitment to either side on the Taiwan issue.
In the Fox News interview, Trump reiterated that US policy on Taiwan had not changed.
“You know, we would have to travel 9,500 miles to fight a war. I don’t want that. I want them to stay peaceful. I want China to stay peaceful,” he said.
Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One on his return to Washington, Trump said he and Xi had discussed Taiwan extensively. However, he declined to say whether the United States would defend Taiwan if China attacked.
According to Trump, Xi is highly sensitive about Taiwan and does not want to see any independence movement.
Chinese state media reported that during the talks, Xi warned Trump that Taiwan remained the most important issue in China-US relations and said mishandling it could lead to confrontation or even conflict between the two countries.
Asked whether he saw a possibility of conflict with China over Taiwan, Trump said, “No, I don’t think so. I think we’ll be fine. Xi doesn’t want war.”
China has increased military drills around Taiwan in recent years, raising tensions in the region and testing the strategic balance that the United States has long tried to maintain.
Late last year, the Trump administration announced an $11 billion arms package for Taiwan, including advanced rocket launchers and various missiles, drawing strong opposition from Beijing.
Trump said he would soon decide whether to proceed with the arms sale and noted that he had discussed the issue in detail with Xi.
“I also have to talk about this with the person currently running Taiwan,” he added.
The United States has no formal diplomatic ties with Taiwan, though it maintains substantial unofficial relations. US presidents traditionally avoid direct communication with Taiwan’s leaders to prevent major tensions with China. Beijing views Lai as a separatist leader.
Trump told Fox News that the United States did not want war and said China would likely be satisfied if the current status quo remained.
“We don’t want anyone saying, ‘America supports us, so now let’s become independent,’” he said. (Source: BBC News)
People’s News Monitoring Service
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