WASHINGTON, May 21 (Bernama-dpa) — United States (US) President Donald Trump said on Wednesday he planned to speak with Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te, raising the prospect of a direct contact likely to anger Beijing amid tensions over possible new US arms sales to Taiwan, German Press Agency (dpa) reported.
Asked by reporters whether he intended to call Lai before deciding on further weapons sales to Taiwan, Trump said: “I will speak to him. I speak to everybody.”
“We have that situation very well in hand,” Trump added. “We had a great meeting with [Chinese] President Xi [Jinping]. It was amazing, actually. Many of you were there. We’ll work on that, the Taiwan problem.”
A direct conversation between a sitting US president and a Taiwanese leader would mark a break with decades of diplomatic practice. Washington switched diplomatic recognition from Taipei to Beijing in 1979 and since then, there has been no publicly known phone call between serving leaders of the US and Taiwan.
The US has nevertheless maintained unofficial ties with Taiwan and supported the island’s defence capabilities, primarily through arms sales. The remarks come amid tensions over a possible new US arms package for Taiwan reportedly worth up to US$14 billion.
China claims democratically governed Taiwan as its own territory and strongly opposes official contacts between Taipei and foreign governments.
During Trump’s visit to Beijing last week, Xi stressed that the handling of Taiwan would be crucial for stability in US-China relations. Trump later said on his flight back from Beijing that he wanted to speak with Lai.
Responding to reports that Trump could engage directly with Taiwan’s leadership, Lai said he would stress that peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait were essential for regional security and prosperity, while accusing China of being the main source of instability because of its ongoing military exercises.
— BERNAMA-dpa