US President Donald Trump said Monday he would decide soon on whether to send more weapons to Taiwan, after Chinese President Xi Jinping warned him not to do so.
“I’m talking to him about it. We had a good conversation, and we’ll make a determination pretty soon,” Trump said, adding that he has a “good relationship” with the Chinese leader, whose country claims the self-ruled island of Taiwan as its territory.
In a phone call with Trump on February 4, Xi called for “mutual respect” in relations with the United States, while warning Washington about arms sales to the democratic island.
“The Taiwan question is the most important issue in China-US relations… The US must handle arms sales to Taiwan with caution,” Xi said, according to China’s state broadcaster.
Trump and Xi are due to meet in Beijing in April.
China’s Communist Party has never ruled Taiwan, but Beijing claims the island of 23 million people is part of its territory and has not ruled out the use of force to annex it.
The United States does not officially recognize Taiwan, but Washington is Taipei’s main security backer — although the tone of that support has softened slightly under Trump.
The United States approved $11 billion worth of arms to Taiwan in December, Taipei said.
Shortly thereafter, China launched major live-fire drills to simulate a blockade around Taiwan’s key ports.
Taiwan’s foreign ministry said Tuesday it closely monitors “US-China interactions and maintains good communication with the US side.”
Source: Insider Paper
