US President Donald Trump said he does not want to order the US military to go to war with China if Taiwan decides to declare independence from China.
During an interview with Fox News, he was asked if anything had changed in Washington's policy towards Taipei since his talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing.
„As far as US policy is concerned, no, nothing has changed“, the US head of state replied.
„I'll put it this way: I don't want anyone to go down the path of independence, because, as you know, the assumption was that we would have to travel 9,500 miles to fight a war. I don't want that. I would like them to calm down. I want China to calm down, too," Trump explained.
After his meeting with Xi Jinping, Donald Trump warned Taiwan not to declare formal independence. Speaking to Fox News, Trump said that the United States does not want war and expressed the opinion that if the status quo is maintained, China will agree to it. However, he stressed that Washington does not want Taiwan to take steps towards independence with the idea that the United States will support them in this action.
Trump clarified that he "has not made any commitment" regarding the self-governing island. The US was shown to be willing to negotiate directly over future arms supplies to the island.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio confirmed in a subsequent interview that long-standing US policy towards Taiwan remained unchanged (Washington maintains diplomatic relations with Beijing under the “One China“ principle, but is legally obligated to provide Taiwan with the means of self-defense).
These comments are interpreted by analysts as an attempt to balance relations with Beijing, after the Taiwan issue was made a top priority by Xi Jinping during bilateral talks.