Trump keeps all guessing

US President Donald Trump is yet to make his position clear with regard to Taiwan because, unlike his predecessor Joe Biden, who was pro-Taiwan and anti-China, Trump is unpredictable on diplomatic issues.

- Eric Mthobeli Naki

If, this time around, his relations with China promise transactions that would benefit the United States, he could shift his stance and demand that Taiwan makes peace with China to become one nation, perhaps with autonomy, similar to Hong Kong and Macau.

He took this approach towards Ukraine where instead of releasing dollars and big guns to support Kyiv against Russia, he encouraged both Volodymyr Zelensky and Russia's Vladimir Putin to end the bloody war.

Of course, Taiwanese politicians might not like this. In that case, Trump might act like he did with Zelensky and pressure Taiwan to conform.

Since Trump returned to the White House with even more conservative policies, he has not yet clarified his stance on Taiwan.

The question remains whether Trump's return would encourage Taiwan to assert its self-declared status as a sovereign state.