Trump downplays Beijing threat to Taiwan as Australia touts rare earths deal
At White House meeting with counterpart, US leader praises ties with Xi and disses Aussie envoy after 10-month delay to seal minerals deal
After nearly a year waiting to meet US President Donald Trump, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese sought to argue his country’s strategic value Monday – only for the “America first” leader to dominate the encounter by opining that Beijing had no plans to invade Taiwan and posed no real threat in the Indo-Pacific.
“China doesn’t want to do that,” he insisted on Taiwan, during a press gaggle alongside Albanese, later stating that the island will be one of the topics of discussion when he meets with Xi next week in South Korea, which Trump said was part of a broader Asia trip that includes Malaysia and Japan.
Trump said while he viewed Aukus, a 2021 deal signed with Australia and Britain, as a deterrent against Beijing in the strategic region he didn’t think that “we are going to need it”.
China has expressed strong opposition to Aukus, accusing it of violating the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty as it transfers nuclear weapons to non-nuclear states.
When asked if he would provide more nuclear submarines to Australia to counter China’s “bad behaviour”, Trump instead said that he thinks that “China’s been very respectful to us”.