Trump’s action, not rhetoric, what matters on Taiwan

On December 2, 2016, US President-elect Donald Trump made international headlines by accepting a congratulatory phone call from Taiwan’s then-president Tsai Ing-wen.

It was a noteworthy break with diplomatic custom; since the 1970s, the United States had remained committed to a “One China” policy to placate leaders in Beijing.

At the time, Trump’s call was interpreted as perhaps a signal of bigger foreign policy changes on the horizon. Considering the billionaire’s harsh criticism of China during the election campaign, policymakers reasonably wondered if the incoming Trump administration would be the most pro-Taipei in decades.

Now, eight years later, former president Trump cannot even openly commit to preserving Taiwan’s autonomy.

This apparent policy shift was on display during a recent interview with Bloomberg Businessweek. When directly pressed on the issue, Trump blatantly refused to answer whether he would honor the longstanding US commitment to defend Taiwan in the event of a Chinese attack.

Rather, the Republican nominee questioned the existing nature of the relationship itself. “I think Taiwan should pay us for defense,” he said. “Now we’re giving them billions of dollars to build new chips in our country, and then they’re going to take that, too.”

The comments were reminiscent of Trump’s past criticisms of Washington’s security commitments. He has called NATO “obsolete” and reportedly seriously considered withdrawing all 28,500 US troops from South Korea.

However, while Trump’s transactional perspective on foreign policy is well-established, his administration’s policies did not always align with his isolationist rhetoric.

Officials in Taipei would be wise to look more toward Trump’s actual record in