Donald Trump has cast doubt over whether as U.S. president he would defend Taiwan if China were to invade the self-governed island Beijing views as part of its territory.
"Taiwan is 9,500 miles away," the former president told Bloomberg, "it's 68 miles away from China."
China's long-ruling Communist Party claims Taiwan as its own but has never ruled there since coming to power in Beijing in 1949. Taipei rejects its neighbor's assertions.
The GOP nominee for the U.S. presidential election appeared to suggest that Taiwan should pay the U.S. for protection, telling the outlet: "I don't think we're any different from an insurance policy."
Trump's comments about the futility of trying to defend Taiwan are not new; John Bolton, his former national security adviser, recounted similar reservations in his book.
But the Republican's position will come as a blow to Taiwan's newly elected president, Lai Ching-te, who is running a divided government, and whose party has for years tried to prevent the spread of U.S. skepticism among the island's public and political elite.
After Lai took office in May, China held military drills around the island for two days as "punishment" for the new Taiwan president's inauguration speech, which Beijing criticized as separatist content.
Several times during his term, President Joe Biden has suggested the U.S. would defend Taiwan if it were attacked—a far more categorical position than the typical one of "strategic ambiguity."
The interview with Trump, published on Tuesday, took place in late June at his Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida. Bloomberg said the former U.S. president's views on Taiwan seemed to be based on its economic policies.
"Taiwan took our chip business from us," Trump said. "I mean, how stupid are we? They took all of our chip business. They're immensely wealthy."
Taiwan's Foreign Ministry said it had no comment on remarks made by candidates in the run-up to the U.S. presidential election.
Cho Jung-tai, Taiwan's premier, said the government was aware of Trump's position and was grateful for the U.S.'s longstanding support for Taiwan's security.
"Taiwan is willing to take more responsibility," Cho said.
A spokesperson for China's embassy in Washington, D.C., said in an emailed response: "China has no intention and will not interfere in the U.S. election. We are opposed to making China an issue in U.S. elections."
"The Taiwan question is purely China's internal affair and brooks no external interference," the statement said.
Taiwan semiconductor company TSMC is the main manufacturer of advanced microchips, which are used in everything from AI applications to smartphones and fighter jets, meaning that any conflict over the island would set off major ripples for the global economy.
Su Tzu-yun, a senior analyst at the government-backed Institute for National Defense and Security Research think tank in Taipei, said Trump's "blunt" approach was his way of telling allies and partners to do more for their own defense.
"If Trump is elected, he might have a broader perspective on the special nature of the semiconductor industry. Taiwan did not take U.S. chips—it is a partnership," Su told Newsweek.
"It's like a Formula One car: TSMC is a very good driver, but the car itself is from the U.S. and Europe, and the electronic and chemical components come from Japan. It's a techno-security partnership."
The U.S. officially takes no position on Taiwan's sovereignty but has remained its strongest international backer after severing ties with Taipei in 1979 to forge formal diplomatic relations with Beijing.
The U.S. is also Taiwan's main arms supplier. Under the Trump administration, it increased the number of American weapons systems sold to the island, including deals for missiles, drones, tanks and fighter jets, angering the Chinese government.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian told a press conference in Beijing Wednesday that China would suspend arms control and nonproliferation talks with the U.S. in response to the latest round of weapons sales.
Trump's comments were unlikely to impact U.S. credibility among U.S. allies and partners in the region, given the unique position Taiwan occupies in U.S. foreign policy, said Adrian Ang, a researcher at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies in Singapore.
"Trump's comments still fall broadly within the ambit of the longstanding U.S. policy of strategic ambiguity regarding any action in the event of a Taiwan contingency," he told Newsweek.
Update 7/17/24, 11 a.m. ET: This article has been updated with additional comments.
About the writer
Brendan Cole is a Newsweek Senior News Reporter based in London, UK. His focus is Russia and Ukraine, in particular ... Read more
