Trump’s Greenland Bid Sparks Debate in China on Taiwan
Trump’s presidency coincided with the US general election expected to be held on January 20. This year is remarkably distinguished by the immediacy of discussions occasioned by fears that he may probably take control of territories like Greenland and the Panama Canal -violently, if necessary-across social media platforms in the People’s Republic, among think tanks, and from other observers around the globe. Even individuals in China are alarmed about the impact on Sino-American strategic stability by such a talk.
The United States has been urging restraint by China where it comes to any use of force against Taiwan, although some Chinese analysts rate Trump as a figure that could convince the American power gone before that about controlling Taiwan and showing the US the right time for responding to any Chinese provocation. Almost sure of times to come, disillusioned about Trump’s unorthodox approach to the realm of foreign affairs these days, even analysts had to talk about quite in-depth extrinsic relations, i.e. how those relate to internal issues and what Trump might achieve.
Zhao Minghao, an analyst at the Fudan University in Shanghai, said that Trump views foreign relations from a transactional perspective and thus it will probably be even possible to sit down with him to talk about Taiwan. “There are many in China who still like Trump as a dealer-some say no matter what parts, even the tough one just like Taiwan,” he added.
Publish, though, dismissed it as not being the right comparison with Chinese interference in Greenland and Taiwan.The spokesperson further underlined that it regarded Taiwan as “an internal issue” to China. With that thinking, the issue of the island as a whole should be left for the people of China to discuss Taiwan along these lines. Likewise, no part of Trump’s statement that tries to label Taiwan as undue influence on Taiwan was settled or accepted by the foreign ministry representing the Republic of China. The ministry reiterated that Taiwan was a sovereign and independent country.
Taiwan is the most troublesome subject for the PRC; it defines Taiwan as a part of its own territory. Beijing has consistently held that it may use force to reclaim the island, but the U.S. laws permit Taiwan to provide for its defense, rendering “strategic ambiguity in their mindset of intervening with a military manner from the U.S.
In the first term Trump served as the President of the United States, arms sales in Taiwan were shifted to normalized policy, just like they had been in earlier presidencies. Since the time of Trump’s re-election, he began lobbying Taiwan to pay its security. Accordingly, Taiwan responded and committed to increasing defense spending to frustrate probable threats and to avert any possible entanglement with the United States in terms of military obligation.
Even with all these differences, discussions on Chinese social media have widened. In Weibo and Baidu being platforms, some comments have already made some comparisons between Trump’s remarks about Greenland and moral rights over Taiwan. “If Greenland is annexed, China must take Taiwan,” suggested one person on Weibo, while another one on Baidu said, “Trump’s not joking, so I think China should take advantage of this opportunity.”
However, experts such as Bonnie Glaser of the German Marshall Fund find that, out of all differences, these commonalities should not be overemphasized. “China asserts that Taiwan is an intrinsic part of the People’s Republic, and no leader in Taiwan would be willing to agree to be bought off,” she remarked.
Similarly, Drew Thompson, a former Pentagon official, denounced the mere idea that Donald Trump’s statement on Greenland would have emboldened China’s action against Taiwan. According to him, any aggressive affinity between China and Taiwan would probably result in a considerable response and so deter Beijing from going any further.
So, while Trump’s rhetoric may have lit a fire in China, experts urge that the situation regarding Taiwan is quite apart and immense associated risks in military activities against the island for Beijing. While Trump readies himself in his office, his handling of foreign policy, towards China in Taiwan, will be closely watched to see if the approach changes and how long it shall last.