XI Jinping asked if the US would defend Taiwan in an invasion, says Donald Trump – amid fears the conflict could spark World War Three.
The US president said the pair talked a lot about the fate of the island during his high-stakes diplomatic summit in Beijing.
Trump said he refused to comment on Washington’s loyalties to Taiwan after years of Xi vowing to reunify the island with mainland China by force.
As he made his way back to Washington, Trump said: “On Taiwan he [Xi] feels very strongly, I made no commitment either way.”
“There’s only one person that knows that, and it is me.”
He added that he would “make a determination over a fairly short period” on whether to continue US-sanctioned arms sales to Taiwan.
He claimed Xi even formally questioned him over how protective the US would be over Taiwan.
“That question was asked to me today by President Xi. I said, I don’t talk about that,” Trump explained.
Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One, he added he doesn’t believe Xi would want to start a conflict over the issue.
China has been plotting an aggressive land grab by ramping up military exercises in the South China Sea surrounding Taiwan.
Beijing believes it holds genuine claims over the territory.
But the US remains Taiwan’s most important international backer and their weapons supplier, despite a lack of formal diplomatic ties.
Taipei has fired a stark warning to Beijing, vowing to ready itself for all-out war within two years amid China’s intimidation.
In November, President Lai Ching-te announced that he will be accelerating defence spending by £30.6billion to have a “high level” of joint combat readiness by 2027.
Lai accused Xi Jinping of “speeding up military preparations to take Taiwan by force” as tensions reached a boiling point.
Taiwan has escalated its military spending over the past decade, but Trump‘s administration have urged the island to do more to protect itself.
Ahead of the crunch summit Kerry Brown, former First Secretary at the British Embassy in Beijing told The Sun the issue of Taiwan will be one of the biggest issues between the two nations.
He said: “China will not take US meddling in Taiwan sitting down.
Source : https://www.the-sun.com/news/16365481/xi-terrifying-taiwan-question-revealed-trump/
