Xi Jinping Says China Will Not Invade Taiwan

Taiwan Preparing Defense Against China`s Military

U.S. President Donald Trump claims that his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping told him that they will not invade Taiwan. According to Reuters, “U.S. President Donald Trump said on Friday that Chinese President Xi Jinping told him China would not invade Taiwan while Trump is in office.”

President Trump did not specify when the calls between him and Xi Jinping occurred or when Xi commented to him about the matter. They had a call in June, but Trump said he received a call from Xi back in April without mentioning the date the call occurred, according to Newsweek.

Anadolu Ajansi, a newspaper from Ankara, Turkey reports that Washington`s Chinese embassy called Taiwan “‘the most important and sensitive issue’ in Beijing’s ties with the US.”

Trump said “He told me, ‘I will never do it as long as you’re president.’ President Xi told me that, and I said, ‘Well, I appreciate that,’ but he also said, ‘But I am very patient, and China is very patient,’” according to the New York Post. 

An invasion of Taiwan could provoke a war. Newsweek reports that If China were to invade Taiwan, it could provoke a military response from the U.S. resulting in global consequences since the two nations are nuclear-armed superpowers.

Their foreign ministry said the island nation is said to be relying on itself for its security, responding to President Trump saying Chinese President Xi Jinping told him while Trump is in office, he will not invade Taiwan, Reuters reports.

Moreover, they have also invested in drones as well. SCMP reports that the island nation is in motion of purchasing about 50,000 drones over the next two years seeking to reinforce their combat capabilities against Beijing`s military pressure.

In addition, Taiwan also threatened loss of citizenship and disqualification from military or civil service if government employees and the public had mainland Chinese identification documents, South China Morning Post reports.

According to SCMP, this is in opposition to influence from Beijing from Taiwan`s President Ching-te, expressing it is a threat to Taiwan`s security.

President Trump has refused Taiwan`s President Lai Ching-te and their defense officials to visit the U.S. multiple times due to prioritizing China-U.S. trade rather than Beijing-Taipei relations, The National Interest reports.

National Security Journal states that the People`s Republic of China has an established position on Taiwan`s democratic government, the Republic of China(ROC) claiming the island as its own territory and labeling it a “renegade province.” 

Since the leader of Taiwan`s ROC ‘William’ Lai Ching-te took office, Beijing called him a ‘separatist’ and ‘troublemaker,’ along with calling him a provincial leader rather than a president.

China said it would take Taiwan forcefully after the island rejected the PRC`s sovereignty claims The Guardian reports.

India is still reassuring their stance with Taiwan. Indian officials said New Delhi is trying to have balanced approaches with Taiwan and avoided referring to the “One China” policy since 2010, even though they do not have diplomatic ties with Taipei, it engages
the island nation through unofficial channels like trade and innovation, NDTV reports.

Due to territorial and water disputes, any war between China and Taiwan could drag the Philippines into the conflict. ABCNews reports that in the South China Sea, Philippines`
coast guard, navy and other vessels would defend their territorial interests in contested waters after the Chinese coast guard utilized a water cannon to drive them away from disputed Scarborough Shoal, Philippine President Bong Bong Marcos said in a news
conference.

This comes as relations between the Philippines and China have been strained in 2022 after Philippine President Marcos has been criticizing China`s growing aggressive actions on the South China Sea, according to ABC News.