"Trump in December authorized an $11 billion arms package for Taiwan - the largest weapons sale ever to the island - but has not yet moved forward with delivery and even acknowledged that he's discussed the sale with Xi. He's groused that Taiwan "stole" America's semiconductor business and called on Taiwan to pay the U.S. for protection."
"All the while, Trump has, with the threat of hefty tariffs, prodded Taipei to agree to massive investments in U.S. semiconductor manufacturing and to purchase billions of dollars' worth of U.S. liquefied natural gas and crude oil."
"The Chinese have signaled they intend to make Taiwan a central part of the talks between Xi and Trump this week, raising questions about whether the U.S. leader could be open to dialing back support for the island democracy that Beijing views as its breakaway province."
"Taiwan's backers are concerned that Taipei will be "on the menu" when Trump and Xi sit down for talks, said retired U.S. Navy Rear Adm. Mark Montgomery. "I do worry that we have a transactional president and a transactional opportunity could arise, and then we would have a challenge," said Montgomery, now with the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, a Washington think tank that supports robust U.S. backing of Taiwan."
Trump authorized an $11 billion arms package for Taiwan, the largest ever, but has not moved forward with delivery and has acknowledged discussing the sale with Xi. He has criticized Taiwan for “stole” semiconductor business and has urged Taiwan to pay for U.S. protection. At the same time, he has used threats of hefty tariffs to push Taipei toward large investments in U.S. semiconductor manufacturing and purchases of U.S. liquefied natural gas and crude oil. The approach has raised concerns in Beijing, Taipei, and Washington about whether U.S. support for Taiwan could be reduced during talks with Xi. Backers worry Taiwan could become a bargaining item in the summit.
#us-china-relations #taiwan-arms-sales #trump-foreign-policy #semiconductor-supply-chain #tariffs-and-trade
Read at ABC7 Los Angeles
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