Eventhoughthe U.S. andTaiwandon't haveofficialties, TaipeistillreliesonWashingtonforalmostallofitsweapons.
TaiwanPlustraveledtoWashington, D.C. andPennsylvaniatomeetwith U.S. andTaiwaneserepresentativestofindouthowthey'repreppingfor a possiblesecondTrumpadministration.
MembersofTaiwan's mainoppositionparty, theKuomintang, orKMT, saythat a headstrong
Trumphasthembracingforhisreturn.
I thinkweneedtounderstandthatPresidentTrumpis a personthatwillstickwithhisfirstimpressionor a fixedmindsetoncertainissues.
Andthatis a statementaboutthefactthatChinahasgonefulloninitsmilitarymodernization.
Itismorelikelyin a conservativeadministrationthatyouwouldseethatemphasismanifest, thatyouwouldsee a conservativeadministrationdomoretoconfrontChinaanddeterBeijingthanwe'veseensofarundertheBidenadministration.
Hesaysthatinrecentyears, the U.S. hasbeendistractedbyglobalconflictsinboth
UkraineandinGaza, andifTrumpwereelectedagain, itcouldbring a waveofpolicygearedtowardshandlingthreatsintheIndo-Pacific.
Ifyou'regoingtoprioritizeChina, particularlyfrom a militaryperspective, givenscarceresources, itsuggestsyou'regoingtohavetodolessofsomethingelsewhere, andthatbecomes a hang-up.
ButwithTrump's historyoftransactionalrelationships, there's still a chancehecouldmoveprioritiesawayfromAsia, towardsotherregionshethinksmightbemoreimportantthanTaiwan.