A former US national security advisor on Thursday said he expects Taiwan to make large arms procurements during US president-elect Donald Trump’s second presidency to balance the latter’s trade deficit.
Robert O’Brien, who served under Trump from 2019 to 2021, made the remarks during an event hosted by the Washington-based think tank Global Taiwan Institute (GTI).
O’Brien praised Taiwan’s democracy for debunking China’s narrative that “Chinese people can’t govern themselves,” which he said has frustrated and angered Beijing.
Photo: CNA
Speaking about Trump’s approach to Taiwan in his term, O’Brien described the former president as a “dealmaker” who does not just see Taiwan through a security lens.
“[Trump] also looks Taiwan and sees rich people, and he sees Taiwan as a very rich country,” he said, referring to Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co’s (TSMC) factories in Arizona as one example.
“I don’t think [Trump] will be willing to underwrite Taiwan’s defense anymore,” O’Brien said. “So, I can see the Taiwanese coming in ... with big purchases of US weapon systems, to balance the trade deficit.”
Last month, Taiwan was named for the sixth consecutive time on the US Department of the Treasury’s twice-yearly currency monitoring list, which also included China, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Vietnam and Germany.
Together, the seven countries accounted for about 78 percent of the US’ foreign trade in goods and services over the four quarters ending in June this year, the US Treasury said.
Data from the Office of Trade Negotiations showed that the US recorded a trade deficit of US$61.87 billion with Taiwan in the first 10 months of this year.
“The Chinese are gonna make deals with Donald Trump, and the Taiwanese will [have to] prepare to make deals,” O’Brien said.
O’Brien also highlighted Trump’s nomination of several pro-Taiwan officials in his incoming administration, including China hawks Marco Rubio as secretary of state, Mike Waltz as national security advisor and Alex Wong (黃之瀚), who has family connections with Taiwan, as deputy national security advisor.
Jamieson Greer, a member of the Global Taiwan Institute’s US-Taiwan relationship team, has also been designated as US trade representative, he said, adding that “personnel is policy.”
O’Brien confirmed delivering President William Lai’s (賴清德) congratulatory letter to Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence as reported by CNN last month, and that the US president-elect was reportedly “very pleased.”
O’Brien said Lai’s letter marked one of the first instances of communication following Trump’s election victory.
“I think it was a great start,” he said, despite no direct phone call having taken place.
O’Brien was referring to when former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) personally called Trump in December 2016 to congratulate him on his first presidential victory.
The 10-minute call marked the first direct communication between a Taiwanese leader and a US president-elect since the diplomatic ties between Taipei and Washington were cut off in 1979.
A relatively large earthquake may strike within the next two weeks, following a magnitude 5.2 temblor that shook Taitung County this morning, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. An earthquake struck at 8:18am today 10.2km west of Taitung County Hall in Taitung City at a relatively shallow depth of 6.5km, CWA data showed. The largest intensity of 4 was felt in Taitung and Pingtung counties, which received an alert notice, while areas north of Taichung did not feel any shaking, the CWA said. The earthquake was the result of the collision between the Philippine Plate and the Eurasian Plate, the agency said, adding
Snow fell in the mountainous areas of northern, central and eastern Taiwan in the early hours of yesterday, as cold air currents moved south. In the northern municipality of Taoyuan, snow started falling at about 6am in Fusing District (復興), district head Su Tso-hsi (蘇佐璽) said. By 10am, Lalashan National Forest Recreation Area, as well as Hualing (華陵), Sanguang (三光) and Gaoyi (高義) boroughs had seen snowfall, Su said. In central Taiwan, Shei-Pa National Park in Miaoli County and Hehuanshan National Forest Recreation Area in Nantou County saw snowfall of 5cm and 6cm respectively, by 10am, staff at the parks said. It began snowing
HOLIDAY EXERCISE: National forest recreation areas from north to south offer travelers a wide choice of sights to connect with nature and enjoy its benefits Hiking is a good way to improve one’s health, the Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency said, as it released a list of national forest recreation areas that travelers can visit during the Lunar New Year holiday. Taking a green shower of phytoncides in the woods could boost one’s immunity system and metabolism, agency Director-General Lin Hwa-ching (林華慶) cited a Japanese study as saying. For people visiting northern Taiwan, Lin recommended the Dongyanshan National Forest Recreation Area in Taoyuan’s Fusing District (復興). Once an important plantation in the north, Dongyanshan (東眼山) has a number of historic monuments, he said. The area is broadly covered by
Global bodies should stop excluding Taiwan for political reasons, President William Lai (賴清德) told Pope Francis in a letter, adding that he agrees war has no winners. The Vatican is one of only 12 countries to retain formal diplomatic ties with Taiwan, and Taipei has watched with concern efforts by Beijing and the Holy See to improve ties. In October, the Vatican and China extended an accord on the appointment of Catholic bishops in China for four years, pointing to a new level of trust between the two parties. Lai, writing to the pope in response to the pontiff’s message on Jan. 1’s
RSS