Donald Trump ‘Taiwan phone call was planned’

DONALD Trump was accused of making a massive blunder, but it turns out his controversial phone call was carefully planned.

A call between Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen and US President-elect Donald Trump has sparked controversy. Picture: AP

THE controversial phone call between Donald Trump and the leader of Taiwan had been planned for weeks as part of an intentionally provocative move to take a tougher line with China.

The protocol-breaking call, the first between the country’s leaders since 1979, was mooted even before Mr Trump became the Republican nominee, those involved in the planning told The Washington Post.

Mr Trump’s advisers had long discussed the idea of a new strategy for engagement with Taiwan and taking a more hard line approach with China, those briefed on the talks claim.

According to the Trump camp, Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen called on Friday to offer her congratulations on his electoral victory.

Some questioned the move and Beijing said it signalled his “inexperience” with foreign policy while Mr Trump remained defiant and yesterday appeared to take a swipe at China with tweets implying he didn’t need China’s permission to talk to anyone.

Did China ask us if it was OK to devalue their currency (making it hard for our companies to compete), heavily tax our products going into..

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 4, 2016

their country (the U.S. doesn't tax them) or to build a massive military complex in the middle of the South China Sea? I don't think so!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 4, 2016

China have accused the Taiwanese of playing a “little trick” on Mr Trump.

Washington cut formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan in 1979, switching recognition to Beijing as the sole representative of China, and no US president or president-elect is believed to have spoken to a Taiwanese leader since then.

But the United States has maintained an ambiguous and at times contradictory approach to Taiwan.

On the one hand, America sells high-end weaponry to Taiwan, but it does not formally recognise Ms Tsai, the country’s president, as a sovereign leader.

A man reads a newspaper with the headline that reads ‘China want US President-elect Donald Trump use caution in dealing with Taiwan issue’ in Beijing yesterday. Picture: Andy Wong/AP

The policy is designed to provide democratic Taiwan with enough military clout to fend off China’s vastly bigger armed forces and preserve peace in the region.

Many observers saw the phone call, initiated by Ms Tsai, as a possible shift in longstanding US policy.

China regards self-ruling Taiwan as part of its own territory awaiting reunification under Beijing’s rule, and any US move implying support for independence — even calling Ms Tsai “president,” as Mr Trump did in a tweet announcing the call — prompts grave offence in China.

‘RELATIONSHIP UNDERMINED’

Meanwhile the White House said progress in the United States’ relationship with China could be “undermined” if the issue of Taiwan’s sovereignty flares up.

White House spokesman Josh Earnest said Obama administration officials had been in touch with their Chinese counterparts to reiterate the US support for the “One China” policy, which does not recognise Taiwan as a sovereign nation.

Mr Earnest said it’s “hard to determine” what Mr Trump’s aims were in speaking to Taiwan’s leader. He also said it’s unclear whether it helps Taiwan if this issue is raised.

Ms Tsai’s contact with President-elect Trump didn’t sit well with China. Picture: Chiang Ying-ying/AP

‘TERRIFIC MOVE’

Not all disagreed with the phone call.

Republican Dana Rohrabacher claims he is under consideration to become the next secretary of state and says it’s “terrific” that Mr Trump flouted decades of US diplomatic convention by speaking directly to the leader of Taiwan.

The call irritated China, whose leaders consider Taiwan a rogue province, however Mr Rohrabacher told Fox News yesterday that it’s not as though Mr Trump violated any treaties.

He said: “I think it was a terrific message to them that we’re no longer going to be pushovers, and there’s going to be consequences for their hostile and aggressive actions.”

Mr Rohrabacher is a California Republican known for his favourable views of Russia.

‘ONE CHINA POLICY’

Taiwan’s full name remains the Republic of China, while the mainland is the People’s Republic of China.

But both still formally claim to represent all of China.

In 1992, Taiwan and mainland China both agreed that there is only “one China”, covering both places, although they agreed to disagree about what that precisely meant.

This headline of a Chinese newspaper reads ‘US President-elect Donald Trump delivers a mighty shock to America. Picture: Andy Wong/AP

The policy means that, essentially, countries must choose which territory represents “one China”. Most countries have chosen Beijing, while also maintaining some ties, if nominally unofficial, to Taiwan.

Washington does not formally recognise Taiwan, and officially sticks to the one China policy that says Beijing is the legitimate government of all of China.

But in practice, the small island enjoys many of the trappings of a full diplomatic relationship with the United States.

While there is no US embassy in Taipei, Washington runs a non-profit centre called the American Institute in Taiwan, which serves as something of an unofficial consulate.

Many people in Taiwan today remain distrustful of Beijing while others are keen to explore warmer relations, especially when it comes to trade opportunities.

— with staff writers