Experts question how serious Trump is about strengthening ties with Taiwan

It's not hard to read between the lines of Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar's visit to Taiwan to meet with health officials about the coronavirus pandemic.

Azar arrived Sunday, making him the highest-ranking U.S. cabinet official to embark on a diplomatic visit to the island since 1979 when Washington broke relations with Taipei as a concession to China, which claims Taiwan as a territory. Since then, the U.S. has remained a de facto ally of Taiwan, but has largely refrained from demonstrating any semblance of official ties. The Trump administration has increasingly played fast and loose with those guidelines of late, however, as the U.S.' relationship with China deteriorates, especially in light of the pandemic. And it certainly feels like Azar's trip is part of the possible "strategic shift," The Financial Times reports.

While some experts acknowledge Taiwan deserves better treatment from the U.S., there's also a sense that Washington is creating risks for Taipei, FT reports. "We ought to push the envelope because the envelope was sealed by us, and we have opened it before," said William Stanton, a former director of the American Institute in Taiwan. "But there is the worry — and it is one Taiwan needs to consider as well — that the China threat is constantly there."

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Additionally, Shelley Rigger, a professor at Davidson College and a leading Taiwan expert, told FT she isn't sure how serious President Trump is about supporting Taiwan and predicted he could back down if things with China really get heated, leaving the island vulnerable. "If I were Beijing, I would be asking myself: 'If the U.S. gives us a justification to attack Taiwan, what are the odds that he will change is pattern of cutting and running?" Rigger said. Read more at The Financial Times.