Taiwan's fears that it will become a bargaining chip between China and the United States worsened Friday after a snub by President Donald Trump, who said he would not do anything to upset Beijing.
Trump rattled China in December after taking a congratulatory call from the self-ruling island's new Beijing-sceptic president Tsai Ing-wen after his election, smashing decades of diplomatic precedent.
But after Tsai suggested another call could take place in an interview with Reuters Thursday, Trump said he did not want to risk his newfound "personal relationship" with China's president Xi Jinping.
"I think he's doing an amazing job as a leader and I wouldn't want to do anything that comes in the way of that. So I would certainly want to speak to him first," Trump told Reuters in a separate interview.
Ties between Trump and Xi seem to have warmed recently after they met at Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida earlier this month.
Since then, Trump has praised China for helping pressure North Korea over its nuclear and missile programmes.
Taiwan's presidential office stepped back from the idea of a call after Trump's comments.
"We understand the priority of the US side in handling regional issues and have no current planning (for another call) at this stage," it said in a statement Friday.
Opposition lawmaker Chiang Wan-an called Trump's reaction an "embarrassment" for Taiwan.
"Trump and Xi appear to have established very good relations. Taiwan needs to tread very carefully and be alert," he told AFP.
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