Alwaght- The recent phone call between US president-elect and Taiwanese leader was an intentional move to anger China, Washington Post reported on Monday.
Analyzing the moves and intentions of Donald Trump and his advisory team, the US daily said “The historic communication was the product of months of quiet preparations and deliberations among Trump’s advisers about a new strategy for engagement with Taiwan that began even before he became the Republican presidential nominee, according to people involved in or briefed on the talks”.
Trump spoke with Taiwanese president Tsai Ing-wen on Friday causing a rage in Beijing which considers Taiwan parts of its territory based on a policy called the “one China”.
The US government ended its diplomatic relations with Taiwan back in 1979 accepting the One China policy. Though Washington remains the island’s main supporter and sole weapon supplier, no US president or president-elect has talked to Taiwanese authorities since then.
The call also reflects the views of hard-liner advisers urging Trump to take a tough opening line with China, said others familiar with the months of discussion about Taiwan and China, Washington post writes.
Meanwhile the whole team has been working to downplay the conversation as a congratulatory call rejecting the hype over it.
“He took the call, accepted her congratulations and good wishes and it was precisely that,” Vice President-elect Mike Pence said Sunday on ABC’s “This Week.”
Some critics portrayed the move as the thoughtless blundering of a foreign policy novice, but other experts said it appeared calculated to signal a new, robust approach to relations with China.
Some of the GOP’s most ardent Taiwan proponents are playing active roles in Trump’s transition team, and others in the conservative foreign policy community see a historic opportunity to reset relations with Taiwan and reposition it as a more strategic ally in East Asia.
Several leading members of Trump’s transition team are considered hawkish on China and friendly toward Taiwan, including incoming chief of staff Reince Priebus.
Friday’s phone call does not necessarily mean that will happen, but it does look like the first sign of a recalibration by a future Trump administration, experts say.
It was planned weeks ahead by staffers and Taiwan specialists on both sides, according to people familiar with the plans.
