TAIPEI, May 25 (Reuters) – A call between the U.S. and Taiwanese leaders would be a positive thing but it is up to President Donald Trump to take the initiative and the two sides have not had any planning talks, Taiwan’s foreign minister said on Monday.
A call between the two leaders would be unprecedented and risk roiling Washington’s ties with Beijing, which views democratically governed Taiwan as its own territory. U.S. and Taiwanese presidents have not spoken directly since Washington shifted diplomatic recognition to Beijing from Taipei in 1979.
Trump said again last Wednesday he would speak with Taiwan President Lai Ching-te, dispelling initial speculation that his first mention of it after meeting Chinese President Xi Jinping earlier this month was a verbal slip.
Taking lawmaker questions at parliament, Taiwan Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung said the initiative to make the call was up to Trump but that there have been no bilateral consultations yet about it, which would happen if the call were to take place.
“If there were a phone call between the heads of state of the United States and Taiwan, I think we would view that very positively,” Lin said.
“I believe the president’s side is well prepared,” he added, referring to Lai. “But of course, this also depends on President Trump and how he might proactively bring it about.”
Lai said last week that if he got the opportunity to speak to Trump, he would say China was undermining peace and nobody has the right to “annex” the island. Lai did not say whether any call had been set up.
Reuters reported on Friday that the U.S. and Taiwan have not made concrete plans for talks between their presidents.
At stake is the future of a new $14 billion arms sale package for Taiwan, which Trump has said he is yet to make a decision on. In December, Washington approved $11 billion in weapons for Taiwan, the largest to date.
Both Taipei and Washington have said that U.S. policy towards Taiwan remains unchanged after the Trump-Xi meeting.
The U.S. is bound by the 1979 Taiwan Relations Act to provide Taiwan with the means to defend itself.
Lai, who rejects Beijing’s sovereignty claims, has repeatedly offered talks with China but been rebuffed. Beijing calls him a “separatist”.
(Reporting by Ben Blanchard; Editing by Lincoln Feast.)
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