Roving Periscope: Is Trump trapping both China and Taiwan?
Virendra Pandit
New Delhi: In recent months, the USA approved a record USD 11 billion arms package for Taiwan, and is currently reviewing an additional USD14 billion deal. In March 2026, President Donald Trump welcomed Japan’s Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi to the White House, although she strongly supports Taiwan’s independence.
But now he has stated that America is not looking to “travel to 9,500 miles to fight a war” over Taiwan’s independence!
It can be interpreted in multiple ways.
Has Chinese President Xi Jinping wooed him enough to say ‘okay’ for China’s potential invasion of Taiwan?
Has Trump buckled under China’s pressure and compromised Washington’s long-held position on Taiwan?
Is there something more than what meets the eye?
Broadly, he may have signalled a potential shift in Washington’s approach towards Taiwan following his two-day ‘high-stakes’ visit to China. The USA’s longstanding Taiwan policy has been one of strategic ambiguity; while it officially supports Beijing’s “One China” policy, it also provides an unofficial security umbrella to self-governed and democratic Taiwan.
So, is he wooing China and threatening Taiwan, simultaneously, to do more business with the US? Or, encouraging China to grab Taiwan, ‘justifying’ his own potential annexation of Canada, Cuba, and Greenland, the way he did in Venezuela this year—a la Russia’s landgrab in Ukraine and China in Taiwan?
What did he say?
In an interview with Fox News after his just-concluded China visit, the US President explicitly cautioned Taiwan against pursuing formal independence, framing the island’s defence as a staggering logistical and military challenge for the United States.
“I’m not looking to have somebody go independent and we’re not 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,” Trump said.
Referring to Chinese President Xi Jinping’s longstanding position on Taiwan, he said the issue has always been Beijing’s “most important thing” and indicated that he believed China would prefer maintaining the ‘current arrangement’ rather than facing a declaration of independence from Taiwan—thus, also asking China, indirectly, to keep off Taiwan and maintain status quo!
“It has always been his most important thing from the day I knew him years ago. It’s always been the biggest thing for him, Taiwan,” the US President said.
“If you kept it the way it is, I think China is going to be okay with that. We are not looking to have somebody say let’s go independent because the United States is backing us,” he added.
The US President also claimed that Taiwan’s current leadership was moving towards independence under the assumption that Washington would support it militarily.
“They are going independent because they want to get into a war, and they figure they have the United States behind them. I would like to see it stay the way it is,” Trump stated.
His comments come amid longstanding US strategic ambiguity on Taiwan. Under the Taiwan Relations Act, the United States maintains unofficial relations with the “Republic of China” (Taiwan) and provides it defensive support while officially adhering to the “One China” policy, recognising the “People’s Republic of China,” diplomatically.
According to US Congressional records, the Trump Administration’s 2025 National Security Strategy stated that “deterring a conflict over Taiwan” remains a priority while reaffirming that the United States “does not support any unilateral change to the status quo in the Taiwan Strait.”
During his talks with Trump, the Chinese President stated that the Taiwan question remains the “most important issue” in bilateral China-US relations and warned that mishandling it could lead to clashes and conflict between the two countries.
According to a statement issued by the spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Beijing, Xi stressed during discussions with Trump that the future stability of bilateral ties depends heavily on how the Taiwan issue is managed.
“President Xi stressed to President Trump that the Taiwan question is the most important issue in China-U.S. relations. If it is handled properly, the bilateral relationship will enjoy overall stability. Otherwise, the two countries will have clashes and even conflicts, putting the entire relationship in great jeopardy,” the statement said.
Xi also reiterated Beijing’s strong opposition to Taiwan independence, describing it as incompatible with peace across the Taiwan Strait.
“The ‘Taiwan independence’ and cross-Strait peace are as irreconcilable as fire and water. Safeguarding peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait is the biggest common denominator between China and the US,” the statement added.
Has Trump really returned rather empty-handed from China?
Wait for his next round of actions!
