“I don’t want someone to declare independence and, you know, then we’re supposed to go 15,000 miles to go to war,” the US president said.
The government of Taiwan affirmed this Saturday, May 16 that the island is a nation “independently”in response to statements by American President Donald Trump warning him against any proclamation of independence likely to trigger a war with Beijing.
“Taiwan is a democratic, sovereign and independent nation, not subordinate to the People’s Republic of China.”declared the Taiwanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs in a press release, believing that Washington’s policy remained «inchangée».
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“15,000 kilometers to wage war”
In a television interview recorded shortly before his departure from Beijing, where Chinese President Xi Jinping made particularly firm remarks about the island, Donald Trump warned Taiwan on Friday against any proclamation of independence.
“I don’t want someone to declare independence and, you know, then we’re supposed to go 15,000 kilometers to go to war.”said the American president on Fox News, asking Taipei and Beijing to do “lower the temperature”. “We don’t want anyone to say, let’s proclaim independence because the United States supports us.”he insisted, adding that he had not yet made a decision on American arms sales to the island.
“Regarding arms sales between Taiwan and the United States, this is not only a commitment by the United States to the security of Taiwan, clearly provided for in the Taiwan Relations Act, but also a form of joint deterrence against threats regional »a insisté à ce sujet le ministère taïwanais.
On Thursday, with unusual firmness, Xi Jinping warned Donald Trump: “The Taiwan issue is the most important in Sino-US relations. If it is handled well, relations between the two countries (China and the United States) can remain generally stable. If it is poorly treated, the two countries will clash, even enter into conflict.”.
China considers Taiwan as one of its provinces, which it has failed to unify with the rest of its territory since the end of the Chinese civil war in 1949. It pleads for a peaceful solution while reserving the possibility of resorting to force.
