 "Taiwan, Ukraine and Japan: Xi times Trump call with 3 top China tensions")
US President Donald Trump on Monday held a phone call with Chinese leader Xi Jinping that he described as “very good”. But it did not appear that the call made a difference to China’s stance on the most pressing ongoing issues.
Trump and Xi held the call at a time when China is entangled in geopolitical tensions on three fronts: the Russian war on Ukraine, the public spat with Japan, and the issue of Taiwan. Trump did not mention Taiwan or Japan at all, but the Chinese readout was quick to do so.
Xi told Trump that Taiwan’s return to China was an “integral part of the post-war international order” forged in the common Chinese and American fight against “fascism and militarism”, the Chinese foreign ministry said.
China considers the self-ruled Taiwan as a breakaway province and is committed to its merger with the mainland. It has not ruled out the use of force. Previously, the US intelligence community had assessed that Xi had told the Chinese military to prepare for the invasion and occupation of Taiwan by 2027.
Hours after the call with Xi, Trump held talks with Japanese Prime Minister Takaichi.
Trump wades through tough waters amid Taiwan tensions
Xi has ramped up aggression around Taiwan both directly and indirectly.
Directly, Xi has told Trump —who has already been mum on Taiwan— that China will occupy Taiwan come what may.
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View AllIndirectly, Xi has cracked down on Japan for offering support to Taiwan in case of aggression.
The China–Japan relationship unravelled earlier this month when Takaichi said that the threat to Taiwan was a “survival-threatening situation” for Japan that could force Japan to intervene militarily for the defence of the island. China responded by threatening to decapitate Takaichi, and state media called for dropping nuclear bombs on Japan.
Takaichi said, “The so-called Taiwan contingency has become so serious that we have to anticipate a worst-case scenario.”
Takaichi said a Chinese attack on Taiwan could trigger the deployment of Japan’s military — formally ‘self-defence forces’, not armed forces — if the conflict posed an existential threat to Japan. For context, Japan is just 110 kilometres off the Taiwanese coast.
Even though Trump and Takaichi appear to have a warm relationship, there was no indication they discussed Taiwan. Takaichi told reporters that they “held a wide-ranging exchange of views on strengthening the Japan–US alliance and the challenges and issues facing the Indo-Pacific region”.
Moreover, China has reacted angrily to the US sale of air defence systems and approval of the sale of fighter plane components.
The Ukraine war — and China’s hand
Even though Russia is waging the war, China is very much committed to the war on Ukraine. As Russia’s principal supporter, which has not just sustained its economy and fuelled its war machine, China has made it clear that it would not allow Russia to lose the war.
And Trump’s latest outreach to Xi came at a time when he has been pushing Ukraine to accept a deal that would amount to a surrender in the war and an end to Ukrainian nationhood.
In their call, Trump mentioned that they discussed the Russian war on Ukraine without going into specifics.
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