- Trump maintains ‘strategic ambiguity’ on Taiwan
- China, US defense chiefs meet in Malaysia
- US, S. Korea discuss regional US troop role
- Philippines, US announce new task force
- Taiwan holds productive meetings at APEC
After Taiwan's notable absence from US President Donald Trump’s talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit, a recent Trump interview with CBS’ ‘60 Minutes Overtime’ and US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s tour of Asia have thrust Taiwan back into the conversation. In line with Washington’s long-standing policy of ‘strategic ambiguity’, Trump didn’t say whether the US would intervene in a military conflict over Taiwan. However, Taiwan did come up during Hegseth’s meeting with his Chinese counterpart, Dong Jun. Hegseth also announced a new joint task force with the Philippines, as well as a potential regional role for US troops stationed in South Korea. Do these announcements represent a shift in US military strategy? And what did Taipei’s representative to APEC accomplish while all eyes were on Trump and Xi? In this episode, we discuss Hegseth’s tour, the US' strategic goals in the Indo-Pacific and Taiwan’s foreign policy.
*Recorded on November 5, 2025 at 3pm Taiwan Standard Time
Host/Senior Producer: Yin Khvat
Our guests:
Liu Fu-Kuo
- National Chengchi University Institute of International Relations Research Fellow
Ben Blanchard
- Reuters Taiwan Bureau Chief
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