Get all your news in one place.
100's of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
The Independent UK
The Independent UK
National
Holly Bishop

Trump refuses to say if he’d defend Taiwan from Chinese aggression

Donald Trump has refused to say if he would defend Taiwan if it were attacked by China.

Speaking to reporters on Air Force One following a two-day summit in Beijing, the US president said that Xi Jinping had asked him the same question. “I don’t talk about that,” Mr Trump claimed he told the Chinese leader.

“I'm not gonna say that. There's only one person that knows that. You know who it is? Me. I'm the only person.”

The US and Taiwan have been long-standing allies, and Washington is bound by law to provide the island nation with defensive weapons under the Taiwan Relations Act (TRA) of 1979.

However, Mr Trump has yet to formally move forward with an arms sale package to Taipei worth around $14 billion.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100's of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.