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Fresh from his election victory in 2016, then president-elect Donald Trump broke decades of US protocol by speaking directly with Taiwanese president Tsai Ing-wen. It was the first call of its kind since the 1979 diplomatic shift when Washington formally recognised the Chinese government and severed official ties with Taiwan.
Trump hinted at the time that the US might reconsider its commitment to the One-China Policy, through which it accepts that the administration in Beijing is the only official Chinese government, and acknowledges China’s claim of sovereignty over Taiwan.
But just as quickly as this call rattled the international community and the geopolitical balance of the Pacific region, there came an abrupt backtrack. In a subsequent call with Xi Jinping, Trump reassured the Chinese president that he was committed to maintaining the existing US policy after all.
This kind of inconsistency on thorny foreign policy issues characterised much of Trump’s first presidency, and Taiwan was given a worrying reminder of the episode this week when the Republican, pitching to be voted back into the White House this November, was asked whether he would defend the island in the event of an invasion from Beijing.
“Taiwan should pay us for defense,” Trump said in an interview with Bloomberg Businessweek. “You know, we’re no different than an insurance company.”
While it doesn’t have formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan, the US has signed a treaty committing it to defend the island in case of attack. Though it maintains a policy of deliberate strategic ambiguity when it comes to what this would look like, it is by far the biggest provider of arms to the island’s democratically-elected administration.
The suggestion once again that he might upend America’s long-standing economic relationship with Taipei has set off alarm bells among observers and analysts in the region, raising serious questions about America’s commitment to the island’s defense at a time when the threat of an invasion from China has never been greater.
Sana Hashmi, a Taipei-based foreign relations expert, says it appears a second Trump presidency could see Taiwan “treated as a bargaining chip” for negotiations with China.
“A Trump presidency would likely create turmoil not only in Taiwan but also for several allies and like-minded countries,” Hashmi, a postdoctoral fellow at the Taiwan-Asia Exchange Foundation, tells The Independent.
Raja Krishnamoorthi, a Democratic congressman and the ranking member of the House Select Committee on China, said pulling away from Taiwan would be a betrayal, calling it “illegal”.
“Former President Trump’s threat to abandon our nation’s longstanding, bipartisan commitments to Taiwan would mean betraying one of the world’s most vibrant democracies to the Chinese Communist Party,” he said.
“Failing to provide for Taiwan’s defense would not only be potentially illegal under the Taiwan Relations Act, it would be a betrayal of American values and our democratic institutions.”
Trump again drew a link between Taiwan’s security and US economic interests by suggesting that China could easily take over the island but has not done so because of its prized semiconductor industry, which makes the computer chips that power everything from smartphones to cars and satellites. The Republican leader accused the island of stealing “about 100 per cent of our chip business”.
The Taiwan issue is set to be one of the defining foreign policy challenges for whoever wins November’s US election, with China’s Xi ordering his military to be ready to take the island by force by 2027.
And Trump admitted he does not feel “so secure” over the situation in the Taiwan Strait, where Beijing has “been very aggressive and got ships all over the place”.
Put together, Trump’s comments to Bloomberg significantly dented the shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, the world’s largest chipmaker by sales, a sign of the destabilizing influence he already wields on what is a fragile situation.
Experts said a second Trump presidency would only spell more uncertainty for Taiwan and its industries, particularly those relying on America for support.
“Trump’s presidency has proven to be unpredictable and liable to short-notice changes in policy. In this regard, the Taiwanese government will probably struggle to completely rely on the US backing,” says Barbara Kelemen, an expert on China’s security policy.
She says Trump appears to prefer “strategic flexibility” when it comes to foreign policy issues and hence his commitment to militarily defend Taiwan is likely to be less reliable than that of the previous administration – and to depend on several other factors.
Taiwan’s premier Cho Juang-tai reacted with a carefully-weighted response to Trump’s comments and highlighted good relations between US-Taiwan despite the lack of formal ties but promised to increase its capabilities to defend itself on its own.
“We’re willing to shoulder more responsibility. This is us defending ourselves,” Cho said. “We’re very grateful” for US support, he added.
Though it is not new for Trump to make such comments about Taiwan his latest rhetoric could mean bigger ramifications for Taiwan as the Chinese military has ratcheted up exercises near what president Xi Jinping views as the mainland’s lost territory.
“Taiwan is accustomed to this and preparing for another Trump presidency,” Hashmi says, adding that during Biden’s presidency, it became evident that the US was exploring ways to defend Taiwan in case of an unprovoked invasion.
Derek Grossman, a defense analyst, tells The Independent that “Trump 1.0 was chock-full of folks who supported the defense of Taiwan, even if the president himself didn’t support it.”
However, Washington’s support for Taipei would depend on America’s position in the world at the time, the state of US-China relations, and whether Taiwan declared independence, thereby provoking Beijing.
“Trump has never been a fan of defending Taiwan, and his latest comments simply reconfirm that his position is quite dug in. One can only wonder what this means for US allies and partners globally,” he says.
It is unclear what sums Trump has in mind when he suggests Taiwan pay more to the US. The island already pays for nearly all of its weapon imports from US manufacturers, although the Biden administration has begun directly transferring some military equipment to Taiwan from US stockpiles.
In June, the House of Representatives approved $500m in foreign military financing for Taiwan to bolster its defense against China, along with $2bn in loans and loan guarantees. The US also approved $300m for spare and repair parts for Taiwan’s F-16 fighter jets.
China has blistered over the arms sales and transfers in funding to Taiwan, with its foreign ministry suspending tentative nuclear arms control discussions with Washington on Wednesday.
Experts say Trump’s comments suggest a transactional approach to shielding the island from the Communist Party in China, and mean Taipei will need to diversify its attention to partners beyond the US while focusing on building its own capabilities.
“This is undoubtedly going to result in an unpredictable US-Taiwan policy,” Hashmi says, adding that bipartisan support for Taiwan in the US could offer some consolation, although that is alone is not sufficient.
What adds to the worries is that Taiwan has a backlog of arms deliveries from the US valued at approximately $19bn, which US officials and politicians have repeatedly pledged to expedite. And there are no legal guarantees that a new resident of the White House couldn’t cancel these transfers by executive order, if they deemed it to be in the US’s interests.
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