TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Former US President Donald Trump on Tuesday (Oct. 15) dodged a question about whether he would send troops to defend Taiwan if China attacked. 

During an interview at the Economic Club of Chicago, Bloomberg Editor-in-Chief John Micklethwait pointed out that Trump had previously said that Taiwan should pay for US protection, to which Trump agreed. 

Micklethwait noted that China on Monday (Oct. 14) had launched large-scale exercises which he described as a rehearsal for a “full naval blockade of Taiwan,” and asked whether he would send US troops to Taiwan if China invaded.

Trump said, “The reason they (China) are doing it now is that they are not going to do it afterward, OK.” This was a reference to his putative election win, which drew applause from some members of the audience. 

Trump claimed to have a “very good relationship” with Chinese leader Xi Jinping (習近平), Russian President Vladimir Putin, and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. 

Referring to his demand while in office that South Korea pay US$5 billion (NT$160.89 billion) for the US troop presence in the country, Trump said, “If I were there now, they would be paying us US$10 billion a year. And you know what? They would be happy to do it.” He then described South Korea as a “money machine.” 

In an interview with Bloomberg Businessweek in July Trump also suggested he would make Taiwan pay for US defense of the country, “I know the people very well, respect them greatly. They did take about 100% of our chip business. I think Taiwan should pay us for defense.”

When asked in a Washington Post interview in September whether China would attack if he was president, Trump said, “Nope, not while I'm president.” Trump then warned, “But eventually they will.”