Michael Evans

Will Trump defend Taiwan?

Chinese President Xi Jinping then-President Donald Trump attend a bilateral meeting (Getty Images)

The prospect of a second Donald Trump administration has put the fear of God into America’s allies around the world. The biggest question being raised is: would the United States heave up the drawbridge and let others do the dirty work to keep the planet safe from global war?

Comments made by Trump seem to suggest he still has no love for Nato, that Taiwan should fend for itself if attacked by mainland China, and that Ukraine should give up the territory it has lost to the Russian invaders in return for a ceasefire and forgo any ambition to join the western alliance.

On the face of it, even if elements of this Trumpian foreign policy vision were to be implemented, it would represent one of the starkest changes in America’s relations with allies and partners in modern times.

Trump wants more money for the burden of protecting Asian allies from aggression by China and North Korea

The reality is probably not quite so bleak.

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