Taiwan’s leaders are speaking out after President Trump raised concerns about U.S military support for the island.
President Trump said he and China’s President Xi Jinping discussed an upcoming arms sale to Taiwan in great detail during last week’s summit.
Xi brought up U.S. support for Taiwan in a private meeting, warning Trump that if handled poorly it could lead to “an extremely dangerous situation.”
Beijing views the self-ruled island as a breakaway province and says it could use force if necessary.
After the summit, administration officials said policy towards Taiwan has not changed. However, the president would not commit to a $14 billion package to strengthen Taiwan’s defenses against Chinese military threats.
He said, “The last thing we need right now is a war that’s 9,500 miles away.”
On CBS’ “Face the Nation,” Taiwan’s representative to the U.S. said the president should consider Taiwan’s side. “We’re not the ones creating all this trouble — those are intruders trying to get into our house. The intruder complains that because we’re trying to improve our security system, it’s making his job harder.”
Axios reports that close advisers to President Trump fear China will invade Taiwan in the next five years.
