Taiwan Urges Stability as Trump Meets Xi This Week

Taiwan hopes there will be no “surprises” on issues concerning the island when U.S. President Donald Trump meets China’s Xi Jinping this week, its foreign minister said on Monday.

Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung added that Taipei remains confident in the stable development of its relationship with the United States.

Trump is scheduled to hold the summit in Beijing from Wednesday to Friday. Taiwan’s status is expected to come up during the talks.

China claims Taiwan as its own territory and has never ruled out the use of force to bring it under Beijing’s control. Taiwan rejects Beijing’s sovereignty claims.

Speaking to reporters at parliament in Taipei, Lin said the government was closely monitoring preparations for the meeting.

“We have also maintained continuous communication with the United States … We are confident in the stable development of Taiwan-U.S. relations,” he said, according to Reuters.

“The U.S. government has repeatedly expressed that its Taiwan policy will not change,” Lin added.

He said Taiwan hoped the Trump-Xi summit would not produce any surprises on Taiwan-related issues.

The United States is legally obligated to help Taiwan maintain its defenses. Last week, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said stability across the Taiwan Strait served the interests of both Washington and Beijing.

Taiwan’s opposition-controlled parliament last week passed a special defense budget of about $25 billion. This was significantly lower than the roughly $40 billion sought by the government.

The approved package focused mainly on purchases of U.S. weapons and removed funding for some locally developed systems, including surface-to-air missiles and drones.

A senior U.S. official expressed disappointment on Sunday at the reduced spending level.

Lin called on parliament to take further steps to strengthen Taiwan’s security. “Peace depends on strength,” he said, adding that robust self-defense capabilities are needed to deter aggression.

Premier Cho Jung-tai said the government would act to restore international confidence in Taiwan’s defense policy. He described the current budget outcome as a serious blow to security.

Taiwan is a self-governing democratic island with a population of about 23 million. It has operated separately from communist-ruled mainland China since the end of the Chinese civil war in 1949. 

China has conducted military activities around Taiwan in the run-up to the summit. The Chinese regime never ruled Taiwan but considers the island its territory and vowed to annex it, possibly by force.

The United States switched formal diplomatic recognition from Taipei to Beijing in 1979 but continues to maintain strong unofficial ties and arms support for Taiwan.

Reuters contributed to this report.