US President Donald Trump on Monday gave his inauguration speech. Although mainly directed at US citizens, his words were subject to global scrutiny by leaders and others wanting to understand more about his intentions for his second term. The US has been Taiwan’s strongest ally since the end of World War II and Trump’s first term brought many welcome advances in Taiwan-US ties.
Still, many Taiwanese are concerned about what Trump’s second term will mean for the nation, especially after comments he made concerning Taiwan’s national defense and semiconductor industry.
During Monday’s address, Trump said that the US “will once again consider itself a growing nation, one that increases our wealth, expands our territory, builds our cities, raises our expectations, and carries our flag into new and beautiful horizons.”
The phrase “expands our territory” raises flags.
Trump confirmed within the speech that he is still considering acquiring Greenland and control over the Panama Canal, which will raise eyebrows given his previous refusal to rule out force or economic coercions to achieve those ends.
If the US expands its territory through military or economic coercion, it would be corrosive to the international order and respect for sovereign rights. Questions will be asked such as why Russian President Vladimir Putin or Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) could not use similar methods in their own expansionist ambitions.
Trump also said that he would measure his success “by the wars that we end ... and ... the wars we never get into. My proudest legacy will be that of a peacemaker and unifier.”
Even though Trump is deeply critical of his predecessor’s policies, hopefully he would maintain the latticework of US allies in Asia and the Indo-Pacific region, including countries such as Japan, Australia, South Korea, the Philippines and India, in alliances that former US president Joe Biden’s team spent four years weaving together. If Trump wants to be a peacemaker and a unifier in the region, that would be the most effective way to deter Xi from military adventurism in the Taiwan Strait or the South China Sea. Nobody wants war, but what would Trump be willing to concede to Xi over Taiwan to prevent it in the Taiwan Strait?
There are reasons for optimism in Trump’s Cabinet picks. Marco Rubio, a founding member of the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China, who is deeply critical of the Chinese Communist Party (CPP) and who has talked of the importance of making the CCP conclude that intervening in Taiwan would be too costly, was confirmed by the US Senate to be Trump’s secretary of state. Trump has also named US Representative Mike Waltz, who has called China an “existential threat,” as his national security adviser. If they are an indicator of his foreign policy intentions, Taiwan has cause for confidence.
Trump did not mention tariffs, but he did talk of revitalizing and reinforcing the US’ industrial base, so more demands on moving chip production to the US can be expected, reducing reliance on Taiwan’s semiconductor sector.
Trump’s demands for continued US support for Taiwan — for it to commit more to its own defense and to increase its military budget — are neither unreasonable nor unrealizable. The government has sought to increase the military budget as a percentage of GDP, continues to seek US military equipment and training, and has an indigenous submarine program. It is the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the Taiwan People’s Party that are stymieing attempts to bolster national defense capabilities by slashing the defense budget in the legislature.
Concerns that the US might abandon Taiwan are often overstated. While US President Donald Trump’s handling of Ukraine raised unease in Taiwan, it is crucial to recognize that Taiwan is not Ukraine. Under Trump, the US views Ukraine largely as a European problem, whereas the Indo-Pacific region remains its primary geopolitical focus. Taipei holds immense strategic value for Washington and is unlikely to be treated as a bargaining chip in US-China relations. Trump’s vision of “making America great again” would be directly undermined by any move to abandon Taiwan. Despite the rhetoric of “America First,” the Trump administration understands the necessity of
In an article published on this page on Tuesday, Kaohsiung-based journalist Julien Oeuillet wrote that “legions of people worldwide would care if a disaster occurred in South Korea or Japan, but the same people would not bat an eyelid if Taiwan disappeared.” That is quite a statement. We are constantly reading about the importance of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC), hailed in Taiwan as the nation’s “silicon shield” protecting it from hostile foreign forces such as the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), and so crucial to the global supply chain for semiconductors that its loss would cost the global economy US$1
US President Donald Trump’s challenge to domestic American economic-political priorities, and abroad to the global balance of power, are not a threat to the security of Taiwan. Trump’s success can go far to contain the real threat — the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) surge to hegemony — while offering expanded defensive opportunities for Taiwan. In a stunning affirmation of the CCP policy of “forceful reunification,” an obscene euphemism for the invasion of Taiwan and the destruction of its democracy, on March 13, 2024, the People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) used Chinese social media platforms to show the first-time linkage of three new
Sasha B. Chhabra’s column (“Michelle Yeoh should no longer be welcome,” March 26, page 8) lamented an Instagram post by renowned actress Michelle Yeoh (楊紫瓊) about her recent visit to “Taipei, China.” It is Chhabra’s opinion that, in response to parroting Beijing’s propaganda about the status of Taiwan, Yeoh should be banned from entering this nation and her films cut off from funding by government-backed agencies, as well as disqualified from competing in the Golden Horse Awards. She and other celebrities, he wrote, must be made to understand “that there are consequences for their actions if they become political pawns of
RSS