Washington DC: US President Donald Trump, during his first Cabinet meeting, declined to say on Wednesday if his administration would move to prevent China from taking Taiwan by force, CNN reported.
He told reporters during his first Cabinet meeting in this term, "I never comment on that -- I don't comment on anything, because I don't want to ever put myself in that position," as per CNN.
"And if I said it, I certainly wouldn't be saying it to you. I'd be saying it to other people, maybe people around this table, very specific people around this table," Trump added.
Trump's comments came as China accused his administration of "serious regression" in its position on Taiwan, after the State Department removed a line from its website stating that the US does not support Taiwan independence earlier this month, as per CNN.
In what it called a "routine" update to its online fact sheet on US relations with Taiwan last week, the State Department dropped the phrase "we do not support Taiwan independence" - a position long held by the US.
Under what is known as the "one China policy," the US recognises the People's Republic as the sole legitimate government of China; it also acknowledges Beijing's position that Taiwan is part of China, but has never accepted the Chinese Communist Party's claim of sovereignty over the island.
But, in his Wednesday remarks, Trump offered a more conciliatory tone to Beijing, telling reporters, he has "a great relationship" with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
"We're going to have a good relationship with China, but they won't be able to take advantage of us," Trump added, as per CNN.
China's military accused the US on February 12 of engaging in risky behaviour in the Taiwan Strait after two US naval ships transited the international waterway. "The US action sends the wrong signals and increases security risks," the Eastern Theatre Command of the PLA said in a statement on Wednesday.
US naval ships regularly conduct freedom of navigation exercises through the 180km-wide (111 miles) Taiwan Strait, although the navy's patrol that week was the first of its kind since US President Donald Trump took office in January, as per Al Jazeera.
China claims the Taiwan Strait as domestic territory, although the UN Law of the Sea caps "territorial waters" at 12 nautical miles (22km) from the coastline, Al Jazeera reported.
Disclaimer: This is a syndicated feed. The article is not edited by the FPJ editorial team.
