The Straits Times today cited a report from the U.S. Washington Post, stating that on June 5 local time, President Trump, when questioned by accompanying reporters aboard Air Force One about whether he would approve a $14 billion arms sale to Taiwan, responded: "We are considering it." Regarding whether he would speak with Lai Qingde, he said: "I will always be open to talking with him."
This marks the third time since Trump concluded his visit to China and returned to the United States last month that he has publicly indicated he is willing to talk with the leader of "Taiwan independence" regarding arms sales—exposing his strategy of treating Taiwan as a bargaining chip in his game against China, aimed at maximizing personal gains. Trump's calculations are clear and direct: First, pressuring China to raise prices. Immediately after ending his visit to China, he released sensitive signals on Taiwan, aiming to force Beijing to concede in areas such as trade and procurement, in exchange for U.S. restraint on the Taiwan issue. Second, extracting benefits from Taiwan. Arms sales represent a lucrative profit for the U.S. defense industry, while hints of a phone call pressure the DPP authorities into paying high "protection fees," continuously increasing their defense spending toward the U.S. Third, balancing domestic politics and China policy. He seeks to appease domestic anti-China factions without fully provoking Beijing to the point of collapsing cooperation, maintaining room for negotiation through deliberately ambiguous statements.
Trump’s Taiwan strategy: pure calculation, driven solely by profit. Trump has never committed to "protecting Taiwan"—the so-called "support for Taiwan" is merely empty rhetoric. Any "Taiwan independence" actions based on illusions of American backing will ultimately become victims of Trump’s transactional games, inevitably triggering strong countermeasures from the mainland and accelerating their own downfall.
Original source: toutiao.com/article/1867306894725196/
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