In an exclusive interview with TaiwanPlus, Bonnie Glaser warns Trump’s reelection could strain U.S.-Taiwan relations, with Taiwan paying for U.S. weapons but lacking clear protection. She highlights the need for consistent U.S. policy and global support to deter Chinese aggression.
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00:00Now, during the campaign, Trump mentioned a number of things related to Taiwan.
00:06One of the things he said was that Taiwan stole the United States chip business and
00:10that it should pay the U.S. for defensive weapons.
00:14What do you make of his comments and the implications it could have for Taiwan?
00:18Well, I think that Trump said that Taiwan should pay for protection because they already
00:22pay for defensive weapons.
00:25And because of the fact that the U.S. sells a lot of weapons to Taiwan, no other country
00:30in the world does, it all adds up.
00:32It's not protection money.
00:34These are for real capabilities to help Taiwan defend itself, and nobody should think otherwise.
00:42These weapons will help Taiwan, particularly the asymmetric weapons.
00:46We've recently seen a report that the HIMARS, some of them have been delivered to Taiwan.
00:53Very important capabilities.
00:54So yes, I think Donald Trump has said various things.
01:00That doesn't necessarily mean that they will be put into practice.
01:04I do want to talk a little bit about Donald Trump's relationship with Xi Jinping, the
01:09Chinese president.
01:11He talks very favorably about him.
01:13He says Xi is a tough guy, invited him to Mar-a-Lago.
01:16Do you think that poses a risk for Taiwan?
01:20Well, there are scenarios in which it could pose some risks.
01:25So during the Biden administration, when Xi Jinping met with President Biden, it has been
01:30reported at least two times that Xi Jinping has asked Joe Biden to do something on Taiwan.
01:37So he asked President Biden to stop Nancy Pelosi from going to Taiwan.
01:43President Biden did not do so.
01:45And then more recently, it was reported that he asked Joe Biden to say publicly that the
01:51United States opposes Taiwan independence.
01:54And our policy, of course, is that the United States does not support Taiwan independence.
02:00And the difference is, I think, important, even though it sounds like it's not that different.
02:06If there were an opportunity for Taiwan to be independent and Beijing allowed it to happen,
02:10why would we oppose it?
02:12So Americans have never felt comfortable.
02:15And it's not the first time during the Clinton administration.
02:18Beijing also tried to get the U.S. president to say that he opposed independence.
02:24So what would happen if there were a conversation between Donald Trump and Xi Jinping, and Xi
02:28Jinping asked Donald Trump to do something on Taiwan?
02:32And then Donald Trump might think, oh, he wants something from me.
02:35What can I get from him?
02:37And we know he has this proclivity to be transactional.
02:42And what is wise leadership in Washington look like in terms of dealing with Taiwan?
02:46Well, I certainly think it means consistent rhetoric about our support for Taiwan, not
02:55saying, well, you know, we should charge Taiwan for protection.
03:00That's just not effective signaling.
03:02I think that we should have very effective signaling in our conversations with Xi Jinping
03:08about the unacceptability of any use of force against Taiwan.
03:13And we should encourage our allies to continue to do that, because Xi Jinping has to see
03:17this is not just a U.S.-China issue, it really is a global issue.
03:22And then, of course, the willingness to help Taiwan, whether it's arms sales, continued
03:27training, providing other capabilities to help strengthen Taiwan's resilience, I think
03:34all of that is important.