President Trump on Thursday said his counterpart, Chinese President Xi Jinping, would have to determine himself if he will use military force against Taiwan.
The president told The New York Times regarding a potential operation led by Beijing that Xi considers Taiwan “to be a part of China and that’s up to him what he’s going to be doing.”
“You know, I’ve expressed to him that I would be very unhappy if he did that and I don’t think he’ll do that. I hope he doesn’t,” Trump said, days after the United States captured Venezuelan regime leader Nicolás Maduro.
“He may do it after we have a different president, but I don’t think he’s going to do it with me as president,” Trump continued.
He noted that Maduro’s capture came after signs of a “real threat,” adding the circumstances faced by China are not similar to those around the U.S. and Venezuela.
“You didn’t have people pouring into China. You didn’t have drugs pouring into China. You didn’t have all of the bad things that we’ve had. You didn’t have the the jails of Taiwan opened up and the people pouring into China,” Trump said.
“There aren’t that many people in the jails. But you didn’t have hundreds of thousands of people coming from jails and mental institutions,” he added.
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The Trump administration has described the Venezuelan operations as part of a war on the influx of illegal narcotics being funneled into the U.S. Maduro, alongside his wife, Cilia Flores, is facing narco-terrorism charges in the Southern District of New York in addition to charges of cocaine importation conspiracy, possession of machine guns and destructive devices, and conspiracy to possess machine guns and destructive devices.
While the White House has justified the U.S. military’s attacks on Caracas, Xi has overseen a ramping-up of military action near Taiwan.
In recent weeks, Chinese officials have confirmed live drills around the island, which have included 130 aircraft, such as fighters and bombers; 14 military ships; and eight other official ships from Beijing.
Lawmakers on the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party condemned the show of force by reiterating Washington’s alliance with Taipei.
“These drills are intended to intimidate Taiwan and other democracies in the region and to undermine peace and stability across the Indo-Pacific. … By rehearsing coercive military scenarios and projecting force beyond its borders, the Chinese Communist Party is seeking to reshape the regional order through aggression and intimidation,” Committee Chair John Moolenaar (R-Mich.) and then-ranking member Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Ill.) wrote in a joint statement.
“The United States stands with Taiwan and fellow democracies and will continue to work with partners to preserve Taiwan’s security and uphold a free, open, and stable Indo-Pacific,” they continued.
The White House did not immediately respond to The Hill’s request for comment on Trump’s remarks about Xi.
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