By Allison Jackson and Joy Chiang
Taiwan said on Saturday it is an “independent” nation, hours after US President Donald Trump warned the democratic island against declaring formal independence.
Trump ended a state visit to Beijing on Friday, where Chinese President Xi Jinping had pressed him not to support Taiwan, which China claims is part of its territory.
Taiwan depends heavily on US security support to prevent China from carrying out its threat to annex the island by force.
Taiwan “is a sovereign and independent democratic nation and is not subordinate to the People’s Republic of China,” Taiwan’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
The ministry also insisted that the US arms sale was part of Washington’s security commitment to Taiwan, as Trump said it “depends on China” and was “a very good bargaining chip for us”.
Taiwan’s statements came next Trump issued a warning on the island against the declaration of independence.
“I’m not asking for anybody to go independent. And, you know, we have to travel 9,500 miles to fight a war. I’m not asking for that,” he said on Fox News’ “Special Report with Bret Baier.”
“I want them to cool down. I want China to cool down,” Trump said.
“We’re not looking to have wars, and if you keep it the way it is, I think China will be okay with that.”
But Trump added that “nothing has changed” in US policy towards Taiwan.
The United States only recognizes Beijing and does not support formal Taiwan independence, but historically has not explicitly said it opposes independence.
Under US law, the United States is required to provide arms to Taiwan for its own defense, but it has been unclear whether US forces will come to the island’s aid.
Xi had started the summit with a warning to Taiwanwhose president Lai Ching-te considers the island now independent, making a declaration unnecessary.
The Chinese leader told Trump that mistakes on the sensitive issue could cause “conflict.”
Taiwan’s presidential office noted on Saturday “numerous reaffirmations from the US side, including President Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, that the consistent US policy and position towards Taiwan remains unchanged.”
“Taiwan looks forward to continuing to work with the US under the strong commitments of the Taiwan Relations Act,” spokeswoman Karen Kuo said in a statement.
US arms sales
Ahead of the summit, Trump had said he would talk to Xi about US arms sales to Taiwan, a departure from Washington’s earlier insistence that it would not consult Beijing on the issue.
Taiwan’s parliament recently approved a $25 billion defense spending bill that will be used for US weapons.
Lawmakers have said the funds will cover nearly $9 billion of the $11.1 billion arms package announced by Washington in December and a second phase of arms sales – not yet approved by the United States – worth more than $15 billion.
Speaking to reporters on Friday en route to Washington, Trump said of the arms sales: “I will make a determination over the next fairly short period of time.”
Taiwan’s Foreign Ministry said the weapons were “not only a US security commitment to Taiwan clearly defined in the Taiwan Relations Act, but also a form of joint deterrence against regional threats.”
Tzeng Wei-feng of the National Institute of International Affairs of Chengchi University in Taipei said the Trump administration was “leaning to China’s position” on Taiwan in order to have better relations with Beijing and could “modify the arms sales package a bit to show its goodwill”.
“Openly stating that weapons are a bargaining chip is exactly what Taiwan did not want to hear,” Lev Nachman, a professor of political science at National Taiwan University, told AFP.
“The hope is that the arms sale was non-negotiable because it’s part of the six guarantees, and what Donald Trump is basically saying is that one of those guarantees doesn’t matter anymore.”
