Taiwan says it is an independent nation after Trump warning

Taiwan forcefully described itself as an “independent” nation on Friday, responding just hours after US President Donald Trump warned the self-ruled democratic island against taking the step of formally declaring independence.

Mr Trump ended a state visit to Beijing yesterday, where Chinese President Xi Jinping urged him not to back Taiwan, which Beijing regards as part of Chinese territory.

The island relies heavily on US security support as a deterrent against China, which has threatened to annex Taiwan by force.

Taiwan “is a sovereign and independent democratic nation, and is not subordinate to the People’s Republic of China”, Taiwan’s foreign ministry said in a statement.

The ministry’s remarks followed comments by Mr Trump cautioning Taiwan against any formal move toward independence.

“I’m not looking to have somebody go independent. And, you know, we’re supposed to travel 9,500 miles to fight a war. I’m not looking for that,” he told Fox News’ Special Report with Bret Baier.

“I want them to cool down. I want China to cool down,” Mr Trump said.

“We’re not looking to have wars, and if you kept it the way it is, I think China’s going to be OK with that.”

Washington recognises Beijing as the sole Chinese government and does not support formal Taiwanese independence, though it has traditionally stopped short of saying outright that it opposes it.

US law requires Washington to provide Taiwan with weapons for its defence, but the United States has long remained deliberately unclear on whether it would deploy forces to help the island in a conflict.

Mr Xi opened the summit with a warning over Taiwan, whose President Lai Ching-te views the island as already independent, rendering any formal declaration unnecessary.

The Chinese president told Mr Trump that mistakes over the highly sensitive issue could trigger “conflict”.

Taiwan’s Presidential Office said this morning it had noted the “multiple reaffirmations from the US side, including President Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, that the consistent US policy and position toward Taiwan remain unchanged”.

“Taiwan-US cooperation has always been demonstrated through action,” spokeswoman Karen Kuo said in a statement.

“Taiwan looks forward to continuing to work with the US under the firm commitments of the Taiwan Relations Act.”

Before the summit, Mr Trump said he would raise US arms sales to Taiwan with Xi, marking a shift from Washington’s earlier position that such decisions would not be discussed with Beijing.

Donald Trump told reporters on Air Force One that he would decide on arms sales

Taiwan’s parliament recently passed a $25 billion defence spending bill, with the money set to go toward US weapons purchases.

Politicians said the funding would cover nearly $9 billion of the $11.1 billion arms package announced by Washington in December, as well as a second phase of arms sales — not yet approved by the United States — worth more than $15 billion.

Speaking to reporters yesterday on his way to Washington, Mr Trump said of arms sales: “I’ll make a determination over the next fairly short period of time.”

Taiwan’s foreign ministry said the weapons were “not only a US security commitment to Taiwan clearly stipulated in the Taiwan Relations Act, but also a form of joint deterrence against regional threats”.

China has vowed to take the island and has not excluded the use of force, while stepping up military pressure in recent years.