Donald Trump Jr says US military should focus on China, avoid war

WASHINGTON – US President Donald Trump’s oldest son argued the US should be prepared to deal with any military challenge from China, yet remain open to talks with its rival.

Mr Donald Trump Jr made the remarks in a commentary posted on Feb 18 on Human Events, a conservative political news website.

The piece made the case for Mr Elbridge Colby to be nominated to a Pentagon post. Mr Colby, a hardliner on China, is the President’s pick for undersecretary of defence for policy.

Mr Trump Jr said Mr Colby believed “we must focus our military” on China, “but at the same time, he supports my father in his openness to negotiation with Xi Jinping and avoiding poking the dragon in the eye unnecessarily”.

Mr Trump Jr added that “when you consider that the American people would benefit most from a balance of power with China that avoids war, it makes perfect sense”.

The remarks shed some light on how the Trump administration plans to deal with China.

Mr Trump Jr does not have an official role in government but plays a prominent role in his father’s political circle.

A trade war erupted between Washington and Beijing during Mr Trump’s first term, and

Mr Trump hit China with tariffs already in his second

, suggesting they were needed to hold China accountable for an alleged failure to curb the export of fentanyl and its precursor chemicals. 

China retaliated by targeting a handful of American companies

and imposing levies on some US goods.

Taiwan and the neighbouring South China Sea are the biggest points of contention between the Chinese and American armed forces.

Beijing has pledged to bring Taiwan under its control someday, by force if necessary, while the US has long been Taipei’s biggest military backer. 

Mr Trump has suggested Taipei should pay the US for protection and raise spending on its military.

Those stances spurred Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te to pledge to boost defence spending.

Top US and Philippine military officials recently discussed ways to increase the “scope and capacity” of joint exercises.

Manila and Beijing have been

locked in an escalating dispute over the resource-rich South China Sea

, with their vessels often clashing in disputed waters.

The US and the Philippines signed a mutual defence treaty in 1951. BLOOMBERG