Donald Trump has refused to say whether the US would defend Taiwan should China launch a feared invasion against the territory. The US President told reporters on Air Force One that he “made no commitment either way” on the issue following talks with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping earlier in the week.
He said: “On Taiwan, he feels very strongly, I made no commitment either way.” Mr Trump later added: “The last thing we need right now is a war that’s 9,500 miles away. I think that’s the last thing we need. We’re doing very well. When pressed by a reporter on whether the US would defend Taiwan “if it came to it”, Mr Trump responded, “I don’t want to say”.
He went on: “I’m not going to say that. There’s only one person that knows that, you know who it is? Me. I’m the only person.
“That question was asked to me today by President Xi, I said I don’t talk about those things … He asked me if I’d defend them, I said I don’t talk about that.”
This comes amid fears that China could invade the self-governing island, which it sees as its own territory. Just last month, Xi claimed that “Taiwan independence is the primary threat undermining stability across the Taiwan Strait”.
He said in a speech televised by state broadcaster CCTV: “Compatriots on both sides of the Taiwan Strait are bound by blood ties thicker than water, and the historical trend toward national reunification is unstoppable.”
The test was reportedly carried out in June 2020 at the Lop Nur facility, sources claimed. They added that China also appears to be developing low-yield, tactical nuclear weapons for the first time.
Similar weapons may be deployed against targets close to the country, such as Taiwan, the sources suggested, possibly in scenarios where Beijing responds to a US move in defence of the territory claimed by China.
