U.S. President Donald Trump hosts his first cabinet meeting at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., Feb. 26. Reuters-Yonhap
U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday declined to say whether his administration would move to defend Taiwan against any possible mainland Chinese attack, while touting his "great relationship" with President Xi Jinping.
"I don't comment because I don't ever want to put myself in that position" to commit in advance, Trump told reporters at the administration's first cabinet meeting, joined by Elon Musk, the world's richest man, who has extensive business interests in China.
"We're gonna have a good relationship with China, but they won't be able to take advantage of us," Trump added.
The U.S. president also appeared to extend the deadline for 25 percent tariffs on imports from neighboring Canada and Mexico by a month to April 2.
But Secretary of State Marco Rubio, struck a slightly different tone from his boss on Taiwan. In an interview with Fox News, he suggested the U.S. was committed to "prevent" such an attack from happening.
U.S. President Donald Trump, right, hosts his first cabinet meeting with Elon Musk in attendance as he sits next to U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, in Washington, D.C., U.S., Feb. 26. Reuters-Yonhap
Rubio in his comments that aired on Wednesday said Beijing was aware of America's military capability under its "strong leader, President Trump."
"If they know we don't have the capability to respond or we have a weak leader, then they may test it," the top U.S. diplomat added. "We just don't want to get to that point. It would be a terrible thing for the world and it would be a bad thing for China, too."
Washington has long maintained a policy of "strategic ambiguity" regarding Taiwan, in contrast to formal U.S. defense treaty partnerships with Japan, Korea and the Philippines, each of whose mutual defense obligations are clear.
The policy intentionally leaves as an open question whether the U.S. would help defend Taiwan in the event of an attack by Beijing. The aim is to deter the mainland from taking aggressive action yet avoiding a direct commitment to military intervention.
As president, Joe Biden departed from previous policy on at least two public occasions by pledging the U.S. military would respond in the event of a conflict involving Taiwan.
In an interview in September 2022, Biden stated that the U.S. military would defend Taiwan "if, in fact, there was an unprecedented attack." Earlier that year, when asked the same question by a reporter in Tokyo, Biden responded with a "yes."
Beijing sees Taiwan as part of China to be reunited by force if necessary.
Most countries, including the U.S., do not recognize Taiwan as an independent state, but Washington is opposed to any attempt to take the self-governed island by force and is committed to supplying it with weapons.
A global hub of advanced chips, Taiwan is home to the world's biggest and most successful chip company, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company.
Biden sanctioned billions of dollars in grants and subsidies for TSMC to build two plants in the U.S.
People walk beside the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) signage outside the company's Museum of Innovation at its headquarters in Hsinchu, Taiwan, Nov. 21, 2024. AFP-Yonhap
Trump, in contrast, has accused Taiwan of undermining America's chip industry and threatened to impose tariffs on companies that do not manufacture in the U.S.
"You know, Taiwan, they stole our chip business," he said last October. "And they want protection."
Last month Trump said U.S. government subsidies were not required for Taiwanese tech companies manufacturing in the states.
"We don't need to give them money. They're going to come back because it's in their interest to do so," he said of the firms, calling the establishment of plants in the U.S. the "only way" for Taiwan to avoid tariffs.
Analysts have warned that Trump's transactional and unpredictable approach to policymaking could be misinterpreted by both allies and adversaries.
William Matthews of Chatham House, a London-based think tank, said Trump's approach "increases the risk of accidental escalation over flashpoints like Taiwan and the South China Sea."
In a paper published in January, Matthews said "Beijing could perceive Trump's ambiguity as a lack of resolve" and that his "more transactional, even antagonistic, attitude towards U.S. defense partners heightens the risk that this ambiguity could extend to formal regional commitments, creating opportunities for China to exploit."
On Wednesday, Trump encouraged China to invest in the U.S., clarifying that it would not be accurate to say that "we don't want China in this country."
This followed his announcement last week outlining plans to restrict Chinese investment in critical American sectors.
Since taking office, Trump has imposed additional 10 percent tariffs on Chinese imports.
In retaliation, Beijing has levied 10 to 15 percent tariffs on American coal, oil and other products.
American allies have not been spared. A 25 percent tariff on Canada and Mexico is due to take effect by early April, with reciprocal tariffs on other trading partners, including the European Union, expected around the same time.
Calling the U.S. "a pot of gold," Trump on Wednesday said retaliation against tariffs would not succeed because "we don't buy anymore, and if that happens, we win."
He later added that the EU was established to "screw" the U.S. and had done a "good job" at it.
Trump in his remarks on Wednesday touched on America's ties with other parts of the world, saying that, aside from China, the U.S. would have good relationships with Russia, Ukraine and the Middle East.
In recent weeks, Trump has reversed three years of U.S. policy towards Ukraine, seeking warmer relations with Russia and its leader, Vladimir Putin. Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, and since then the U.S. has provided Kyiv billions in military aid.
Earlier this week, he declined to label Putin, president since 2012, a dictator and recently used the term in a social media post to describe Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Announcing on Wednesday that Zelenskyy would travel to the U.S. to sign a minerals deal, Trump ruled out making security guarantees for the war-torn country.
"We're going to have Europe do that because Europe is the next-door neighbor. But we're going to make sure everything goes well," he said, adding that the U.S. intended to "get back" what it spent on Ukraine.
The stark shift has raised concern at home and abroad that China could be emboldened to assert its territorial claim over Taiwan.
"Xi may look at the U.S. decision to negotiate directly with Russia about the war in Ukraine, without a seat at the table for Ukraine, as a precedent for direct negotiations with Trump over Taiwan," said David Sacks of the Council on Foreign Relations this week.
Sacks predicted that Taiwan could become a target of Trump's broad view of allies and partners as "free riders" and his belief that they should spend more on their defense.
Trump has stated that Taiwan should allocate 10 percent of its GDP to defense. The island currently spends nearly 2.4 percent, compared with the vast majority of European countries that spend well below that.
Read the full story at SCMP.