Taiwan soldiers on through Xi's threats and Trump's ambivalence

TAIPEI — There's a postmortem playing out here after Chinese President Xi Jinping warned President Trump to be careful on Taiwan, and Trump responded with ambivalence about U.S. arms sales and the island's chances in any conflict. Why it matters: Some Trump advisers left the summit thinking a Chinese move on Taiwan was growing more likely. But in Taipei there was no panic, at least on the surface. Taiwanese officials continue to advocate for arms deliveries, while also emphasizing the need to shore up self-defense initiatives, indigenous defense-tech and critical infrastructure . And while Trump and Xi's remarks were closely scrutinized, Taiwanese officials and citizens tell Axios they're accustomed to life in the shadow of potential war. There is unsurprisingly a "very high degree of sensitivity" in Taiwan about military aggression and information warfare from China, said Tsung-Yi Tang, a representative for civil-defense organization Kuma Academy. "But in terms of the daily operations, actually we are still more relaxed." What they're saying: Luo Wen-jia, secretary-general of the Straits Exchange Foundation, on Monday told visiting journalists the world must understand Taiwan will neither provoke China nor let it trample over the island. It's a delicate dance. "Taiwan needs to strengthen our own self-defense. We need to make adjustments in terms of national defense," he said through an interpreter. "We also have to think about Taiwan's uniqueness, our geopolitics and what kind of risks will arise." The SEF is a semi-official organization that handles civil and business affairs between Taiwan and China . It has offices just blocks from the national defense ministry. "It's not that Taiwanese people are naive. We do know that, given this hostility and difficult situation, we still need to be optimistic," he added. "Of course we do not want to see war." State of play: Trump said after the meeting that he was unsure whether he'd appr...

Original source: Axios