Trump’s Description Of Taiwan As A ‘Good Negotiating Chip’ With China Raises Anxieties

US President Donald Trump’s recent comments that arms sales to Taiwan are a “very good negotiating chip” in US relations with China are raising concerns about the island democracy that Beijing claims as its own.

Trump made the comment in an interview with Bret Baier on Fox News, which aired immediately after the US president concluded his speech. Risky visit to China on Friday.

China views Taiwan as a breakaway province that can be retaken by force if necessary. The United States, like all countries with official ties to Beijing, does not recognize Taiwan as a country, but is the island’s strongest supporter and arms supplier.

Trump now suggests this is open to negotiation.

When asked whether Taiwan would approve a $14 billion arms package that has been delayed for months, Trump said it was up to China.

“I’m putting that on hold, and that’s up to China,” he said. “Obviously this is a very good negotiating chip for us. There are a lot of weapons.”

The United States is bound by its own laws to provide Taiwan with the means to defend itself and views any threats to the island as a serious concern.

William Yang, senior analyst for Northeast Asia at the International Crisis Group, said Trump’s decision to condition U.S. arms sales to Taiwan on his negotiations with China could “turn into one of the nightmare scenarios” for the island: Taiwan being on the menu rather than at the negotiating table.

Although Trump has not said specifically what he would want from China in exchange for not giving arms to Taiwan, he is pressuring Beijing to buy more American goods and help put pressure on Iran.

Trump and the US Congress had already approved it in December A separate $11 billion arms sales package To Taiwan. Beijing reacted angrily by staging live fire drills around the island.

China called Taiwan “the most important issue in China-US relations” during Chinese President Xi Jinping’s recent summit with Trump. The visit will be followed by Russian President Vladimir Putin’s visit to Beijing next week.

In one of his strongest statements to date, Xi warned Trump on Thursday. “conflicts and even conflicts” If the Taiwan issue is not handled properly.

On Saturday, Taiwan’s presidential office sought to ease tensions by emphasizing that “the consistent policy and attitude of the United States towards Taiwan has not changed.”

“The Republic of China is a sovereign, independent and democratic country; this is obvious, and therefore Beijing’s claims are unfounded,” Presidential Office Spokesperson Karen Kuo said, referring to Taiwan’s official name. He added that he was grateful to Trump for the island’s support and underlined that US arms sales to Taiwan were prescribed by law.

Another statement expressing concerns about the candidate was Trump’s call to collect the world’s largest and most advanced microchip industry and move it to the USA.

Speaking to Fox News, Trump said, “I would like to see everyone who produces chips in Taiwan come to America,” describing such a move as “the greatest thing you can do.”

Trump has long pressured Taiwanese chipmakers, which produce more than 90% of the world’s most advanced chips used in artificial intelligence, smartphones and military equipment, to base some of their production in the United States.

Taiwan’s leading chip manufacturer TSMC has committed to an investment of $165 billion in its mega campus in Arizona. In the comprehensive trade agreement the island government signed with the USA at the beginning of this year, 250 billion dollar investment in the US microchip industry, including TSMC’s previous commitment.

Trump also repeated old accusations that Taiwan “stole” its chip-making industry from the United States decades ago.

While Trump did not change the U.S. policy text on Taiwan during his summit with Xi (which many observers feared would), he appeared to adopt some of the Chinese president’s own narrative about the island’s government.

Beijing has branded Taiwan President Lai Ching-te a “stubborn of Taiwan’s independence” and warned that he would bring war and destruction to the island.

Trump and other senior U.S. officials do not generally communicate with Taiwanese leaders, but have shown support in the past, for example by allowing former Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen to transit through U.S. territory to visit Latin American countries. Lai, who is about to reach the two-year mark of his presidency, has yet to set foot on the US mainland, which some observers interpreted as a withdrawal of support from the Trump administration.

In his interview with Fox News, Trump emphasized that he does not want to see a change in the status quo between Taiwan and Beijing. “But now there are people there who want to be independent,” he said, probably referring to Lai.

“They’re becoming independent because they want to go to war and they think the United States is behind them.” He added that he did not want to fight a war thousands of kilometers away.

Wen-Ti Sung, a member of the Atlantic Council, said Trump’s alarming comments about Taiwan could be “another example of transactional rhetoric pushed to the max.” “What’s more important is the item for which Taiwan is holding its collective breath.”