TAIPEI (Reuters) – A former U.S. ambassador appointed by Donald Trump said Saturday that he believed the former president would support Taiwan again if he wins back the White House.
Taiwan, claimed by China as its own territory despite Taipei’s objections, received strong support from the Trump administration from 2017 to 2021, including arms sales, which continued under Beijing’s rule. President Joe Biden.
Trump spoke with the president of Taiwan Tsai Ing-wen in 2016, shortly after his election victory, arousing anger in Beijing – the United States did not officially recognize the government of Taiwan – and joy in Taipei.
James Gilmore, Trump’s ambassador to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, told reporters in Taipei that Trump was not an isolationist but was trying to get U.S. allies to take their own defense more seriously.
“I believe President Trump will support Taiwan when he becomes president. He was in his first term,” said Gilmore, visiting Taipei to speak at the Taiwan think tank Center for Resilience and Innovation in Asia Pacific.
Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee, is expected to face Biden, a Democrat, in a rematch in November’s presidential election.
Gilmore will meet with Tsai during his trip, but not President-elect Lai Ching-te, who will take office on May 20, due to scheduling issues.
He said he would report to Trump on his visit and relay any messages from Taiwan if they were relayed to him.
“I fully expect to draft a memorandum and submit it to President Trump. We don’t know what he will do with these memos that people send him,” he said. “But I have decided that I can be useful.”
Gilmore, Republican governor of Virginia from 1998 to 2002, added that he believed the lines of communication between Taiwan and the United States were already strong and that he did not think he needed to serve as a messenger.
The United States is the main international donor and arms supplier to democratically governed Taiwan, much to the chagrin of China, which has stepped up military and political pressure against the island.
Taiwan has hosted several Republican lawmakers this year as part of bipartisan delegations visiting the island, including Mike Gallagher, then chairman of the House Select Committee on China, in February.
Gallagher said during that trip that no matter who wins the election, the United States will continue to support Taiwan.
(Reporting by Ben Blanchard; editing by William Mallard)
