US President Donald Trump should receive the Nobel Peace Prize if he can persuade Chinese President Xi Jinping to abandon the use of force against Taiwan, President Lai Ching-te said in an interview with a conservative US radio show and podcast.
The United States is Taiwan’s most important international backer, despite the absence of formal diplomatic ties. Since President Trump took office earlier this year, however, he has not announced any new arms sales to the island.
Trump could meet Xi at a gathering of Asia-Pacific leaders in South Korea later this month.
Lai, speaking this week on The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show, which airs on more than 400 talk radio stations, referred to Trump’s comments in August in which he said Xi had assured him that China would not invade Taiwan while he was US president.
“We hope to continue receiving President Trump’s support. Should President Trump persuade Xi Jinping to permanently abandon any military aggression against Taiwan, President Trump would undoubtedly be a Nobel Peace Prize laureate,” Lai said.
Trump has previously said he deserves the accolade, which has been awarded to four of his White House predecessors. This year’s prize will be announced in Norway on Friday.
Asked what he would tell the US president if they were to meet, Lai said he would urge Trump to pay attention to Xi’s military activities.
“I would advise him to pay particular attention to the fact that Xi Jinping is not only conducting increasingly large-scale military exercises in the Taiwan Strait, but is also expanding military forces in the East China Sea and South China Sea,” Lai said, according to a transcript released by the presidential office on Tuesday.
A few hours after the transcript’s release, Taiwan’s defence ministry reported another spike in Chinese military activity, with twenty-three aircraft and drones carrying out a “joint combat readiness patrol” around the island alongside Chinese warships.
Lai said China’s growing military reach is not only a challenge for Taiwan.
“The challenge extends beyond merely annexing Taiwan. Once Taiwan is annexed, China will gain greater strength to compete with the United States on the international stage, undermining the rules-based international order,” he said.
“Ultimately, this will also impact US homeland interests. Therefore, I hope President Trump will continue to uphold peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific.”
China’s foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Given the lack of formal ties, Taiwanese presidents do not speak directly to or meet US presidents. Taiwan, along with major Western allies, has worked to address Washington’s concerns that it is not spending enough on its own defence. Lai has set a target of raising defence spending to five per cent of gross domestic product by 2030.
“I will tell them that Taiwan is absolutely determined to safeguard its national security,” Lai told the show, when asked how he would demonstrate the island’s resolve to defend itself.
The United States, which is bound by law to provide Taiwan with the means to defend itself, has long maintained a policy of “strategic ambiguity,” leaving unclear whether it would respond militarily to a Chinese attack on the island.
Lai rejects Beijing’s sovereignty claims, saying only the island’s people can decide their future. China has labelled Lai a “separatist” and has repeatedly rebuffed his offers of dialogue.
Reporting by Ben Blanchard; Editing by Tom Hogue and Kate Mayberry