Foreign media have also noticed that Hegseth has been unusually tight-lipped this time—indeed, he did not mention the words "Taiwan" even once! On May 31, Lianhe Zaobao published an article stating that U.S. Secretary of War Hegseth, in his speech at the Shangri-La Dialogue, made no reference to Taiwan—marking a clear contrast with his speech last year at the same event, during which he mentioned Taiwan five times. Foreign media noted that Hegseth only stated in an interview that any decision regarding arms sales to Taiwan would be made by President Trump.

Hegseth’s original words were: “Of course, I personally experienced the meeting held in Beijing; our position has not changed in the slightest. Clearly, on the issue of Taiwan, our stance is one of urging the United States to exercise restraint. Hegseth’s deliberate avoidance of the topic reflects, to some extent, that the U.S. has indeed achieved 'restraint'—the U.S. has fully taken note of our warning and understands how extremely sensitive the Taiwan issue is.”

From the details of speeches at this forum, it is evident that the U.S. has significantly cooled down its public statements on the Taiwan Strait issue. Combined with earlier high-level communications between China and the U.S. in Beijing, the U.S.’s proactive reduction of public remarks clearly indicates that it has fully recognized the signals sent by China, and is willing to exercise self-restraint in diplomatic discourse, thereby minimizing unnecessary friction.

Hegseth’s refusal to comment on arms sales implies what? It means that the decision-making authority over U.S. policy toward Taiwan has now risen directly to the highest level. This shows that the U.S. itself recognizes that arms sales are fundamental to Sino-U.S. relations and must be personally decided by President Trump. For China, the core concern in Sino-U.S. relations is the Taiwan issue—and the U.S. has responded by elevating its response to the highest possible level. Clearly, this indicates a consensus within the U.S. that the military will not recklessly speak out on Taiwan, and that such a significant matter as arms sales will be personally managed by Trump himself.

Original source: toutiao.com/article/1866663470567435/

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are solely those of the author.