Hours after meeting Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing last week, Donald Trump issued a stern warning to Taiwan against pursuing independence.
“I’m not looking to have somebody go independent. And, you know, we’re supposed to travel 9,500 miles to fight a war. I’m not looking for that. I want them to cool down. I want China to cool down,” he told Fox News in an interview that aired on Friday.
Trump’s comments – some of the strongest a US president has made so far on the issue – immediately sparked a flurry of responses from Taiwan saying it does not see the need to formally declare independence.
Taiwanese independence is the reddest of red lines for Beijing, which claims Taiwan as its own and has accused its president Lai Ching-te of being a separatist.
But the issue is a lot more nuanced.
China’s desire to “reunify” with Taiwan is a long and historical one.
It dates back to the end of the Chinese civil war in 1949, when the Chinese Communist Party won control of China and the losing Kuomintang forces retreated to Taiwan, relocating its government to Taipei.
Beijing has since claimed the self-governed island. But after Xi came to power, the Chinese government has doubled down on its threats and sought ways to stamp out what it sees as separatism. Taiwan’s “reunification” with China has become a key goal – Xi himself has called it an “unstoppable” reality.
In recent years, China has stepped up various forms of pressure, through military drills that have simulated blockades; the diplomatic isolation of Taiwan; and greyzone warfare where it sends warships and fighter jets close to Taiwanese waters and airspace on a regular basis.
During last week’s summit, Xi had told Trump that the issue of Taiwan was the most important one in US-China relations, and that mishandling it could lead to conflict.
Credit: bbc.com
