US President Donald Trump confirmed his intention to speak with Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te, which prompted a strong response from Beijing amid tensions over possible new US arms sales to Taiwan, DPA reports.
When asked whether he intended to call Lai before deciding on further arms sales to the island, Trump said yesterday: "I will talk to him. I talk to everyone".
"We have the situation under very good control", he assured. "We had a great meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping. It was actually incredible. A lot of you were there. We will work on this, on the Taiwan issue".
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun expectedly issued a strong rebuke, indicating that Beijing categorically rejects any official contacts between the United States and Taiwan, as well as US arms sales to the island.
Taiwanese Defense Minister Wellington Ku, in contrast, said he was "cautiously optimistic" about possible arms supplies. Washington has repeatedly stressed that its policy towards Taiwan remains unchanged, he noted.
A direct conversation between a sitting US president and a Taiwanese leader would mark a break with decades of diplomatic practice. Washington shifted diplomatic recognition from Taipei to Beijing in 1979, and there have been no publicly known phone calls between sitting U.S. and Taiwanese leaders since.
However, the U.S. maintains informal ties with Taiwan and supports the island's defense capabilities, mostly through arms sales. The comments come amid tensions over a possible new U.S. arms package to Taiwan, reportedly worth up to $14 billion.
China considers the democratically-ruled island its own territory and strongly opposes formal contacts between Taipei and foreign governments.
During Trump's visit to Beijing last week, Xi stressed that the treatment of Taiwan would be crucial to the stability of U.S.-China relations. Trump later said he wanted to speak with Lai.
In response to reports that Trump may engage directly with Taiwan's leadership, Lai said he would emphasize that peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait are essential to regional security and prosperity, while accusing China of being the main source of instability due to its ongoing military exercises.