In the midst of the dust raised by Donald Trump, his Taiwanese counterpart, Lai Ching-te, also wanted to mark his red lines: “Our future cannot be decided by foreign forces,” he said in an appearance in Taipei dedicated to taking stock of his two years at the head of .
Lai, whom Beijing has advocated for increasing defense investments in a turbulent context: “We are more alert than ever to threats. It is not about provoking, but about preventing war,” he explained. “Peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait is an essential element of global security and prosperity.”
The democratic island, of 23 million inhabitants, became during last week’s meeting between Trump and Xi Jinping. The Chinese president warned the Republican magnate from the first meeting that relations between Washington and Beijing depend on Taiwan: “It is the most important issue in relations between China and the United States,” said the Asian leader. If handled poorly, he noted, this issue could even lead to “conflict.”
Taiwan is one of the , a place caught in a struggle between superpowers. China, with 1.4 billion inhabitants, sees the island as a rebel province and maintains peaceful reunification among its strategic objectives, although it has never renounced the use of force if necessary to protect its interests.
Meanwhile, the United States, which does not maintain official diplomatic relations with Taipei (it is hardly relevant), sells weapons to it and has for decades maintained a policy of strategic ambiguity in terms of defense: it never fully clarifies whether it would come to its support in the event of an attack.
In that always delicate context, where every comma in the sentences matters, Trump avoided speaking publicly about Taiwan during the three days he spent in Beijing. Upon his departure, however, his statements caused concern in Taipei.
In an interview broadcast on the American network Fox shortly after leaving the Chinese capital, the Republican assured that the Taiwanese could rest assured, that “nothing” had changed and that American policy remained the same. “I don’t want anyone to declare themselves independent,” he stressed in any case. “Travel 15,000 kilometers to go to war […]that’s not what I’m looking for. I want you to calm down. “I want China to calm down.”
Trump’s words have been well received by the state press in Beijing. The Chinese government aspired to a change in language that better reflected its interests: it sought to move the American leader from expressing the traditional lack of support for secessionism to a more outright “opposition.”
Weapon sales
In addition, Trump refused to commit to signing the sale of a historic US arms package for Taiwan, worth $14 billion (€12 billion), which has been delayed for months. Although US lawmakers approved it last year, the White House has still not implemented it.
When asked about the issue, Trump reserved his options: “I may do it, I may not,” he said. “We’re not looking to go to war. If the situation were to remain as it is, I think China would be fine with it. But we don’t want anyone to say, ‘We’re going to become independent because the United States supports us.'”
This package has also been a point of contention between Washington and Beijing. Xi already made it clear in a phone call with Trump in February: “The United States must handle arms sales to Taiwan with extreme caution,” he told him.
Lai, this Wednesday, justified the increase in capabilities: “The modernization of the national defense forces and the acquisition of military material from the United States not only aims to guarantee the security of Taiwan,” he explained. “It is also a means to maintain peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait, and we hope this initiative will continue.”
Lai’s two years in power have not been peaceful. In this time, China has launched numerous military exercises around Taiwan, making them almost a normality in the Strait. The leader of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) succeeded Tsai Ing-wen, also of the DPP, as president, whose eight years in power were also marked by the growing lack of communication with mainland China and the waves between both sides of the strait.
In his speech, Lai has opened a hand to improve ties with Beijing, although it seems unlikely to happen: “Taiwan is willing to maintain healthy and orderly relations with China on the basis of equality and dignity, but firmly rejects the so-called ‘peaceful unification’ efforts, which are nothing more than a form of coercion,” he said.
Lai has rejected the “one country, two systems” formula, which Beijing applies in Hong Kong, and also offers for Taiwan, considering that it would mean giving up the island’s democratic and free lifestyle. “Democracy is not a gift that falls from the sky,” he stated. “It is achieved through generations of sacrifice, dedication and courage.” And he has reiterated that the future of Taiwan can only be decided by its citizens.
