‘FULL CONFLICT MODE’The US president warned of a ‘very significant’ response if the US president-elect is not cautious in challenging China’s core policy on Taiwan
Taipei Times
Date: Dec 18, 2016
By: The Guardian and Reuters, WASHINGTON
US President Barack Obama has cautioned US president-elect Donald Trump against
US President Barack Obama on Friday holds a year-end news conference in the Brady Press Briefing Room of the White House in Washington. Photo: AFP
allowing relations with China to slip into “full conflict mode” after Trump put Beijing’s nose out of joint with a succession of controversial pre-inauguration foreign policy interventions.
Speaking on Friday at what is likely to be his last White House news conference, Obama urged his successor to beware of provoking a “very significant” response from Beijing over Taiwan.
The past two weeks have seen Trump take a series of public swipes at China, accusing Beijing of manipulating the yuan, building “a massive fortress” in the South China Sea and not doing enough to pressure North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.
Most controversially of all, the billionaire has also hinted he might upend nearly four decades of US-China ties by offering greater recognition to the government of Taiwan. [FULL STORY]
