Donald Trump has created uncertainty in Europe by threatening to cut off US support for NATO during his final term as president.
He has also attracted attention for his apparent admiration for leaders such as Vladimir Putin, Xi Jinping and Kim Jong Un, and has drawn international criticism for his decision to recognize Israel's illegal occupation of the Syrian Golan Heights and Palestinian East Jerusalem.
On Wednesday, foreign policy became the main topic of the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, which the outside world is expected to watch with enthusiasm.
Among other things, Trump has claimed he can quickly end Russia's war in Ukraine, and his selection of J.D. Vance as his vice presidential running mate may be an indication of how he might do that.
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– I don't care
“To be honest, I don’t care what happens to Ukraine as a country,” Vance said in April.
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Like other Trump supporters, the Ohio senator was a vocal opponent of the $61 billion aid package for Ukraine that passed after months of tug-of-war in Congress earlier this year.
If Trump wins the election in November, there could be consequences for the continued military support the United States provides, which has caused unrest in Ukraine.
“Vance’s election is a clear signal,” Ukrainian politician Inna Sovson told the Financial Times. She is a member of the country’s National Assembly for the liberal Holos party.
For his part, President Volodymyr Zelensky is trying to calm fears.
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“We will work with Donald Trump if he becomes president,” he said at a news conference earlier this week. “I’m not worried about that.”
Ukraine has received large amounts of weapons and ammunition from the United States, but that could end if Donald Trump wins the presidential election this fall. Photo: AFP/NTB
European unrest
Like Trump, Vance also believes that the United States has largely paid the bill for European countries' security and defense.
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– He said in an interview with Fox News last June that NATO countries cannot be US welfare clients.
During a speech at the Munich Security Conference earlier this year, Vance stressed that from now on the United States must turn its gaze eastward toward Asia, where China threatens America's economic dominance.
– The United States needs to focus more strongly on East Asia. It is the part of the world that will shape the future of American foreign policy for the next 40 years. Europe needs to wake up and take responsibility for this, he added.
– The point is not that we want to leave Europe. The point is that we as a country should focus on East Asia, and that we rely on our European allies to strengthen the defense of Europe, he said.
Taiwan
In Asia, too, recent statements by Trump and Vance have caused unrest.
Trump said in an interview with Bloomberg Businessweek this week that Taiwan should pay for its own defense.
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– I know the people there very well and respect them very much. They have taken over almost 100 percent of the computer chip production. I think Taiwan should pay us for defense, Trump said.
“We are basically like an insurance company,” he continued. “Taiwan gives us nothing.”
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Taiwan's foreign ministry declined to comment on Trump's statement.
– The Ministry has no comment on the candidates' statements during the election campaign in the United States.
Trade war
During the Cold War, the United States had military bases in Taiwan and had a defense agreement with the authorities on the Chinese island.
In 1979, the United States severed formal relations and instead recognized the government in Beijing. The defense agreement was also terminated.
Since then, the US relationship with Taiwan has been governed by a special US law that gives Washington the opportunity to provide military assistance, but not to help Taiwan if it is attacked.
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However, Trump's statement on cutting military aid to Taiwan cannot be read as direct support for China.
As president, he went to war with Beijing and seems intent on escalating it if he wins the election.
– China's growth means the United States has gone from being a beacon of free trade and its biggest advocate to its biggest adversary, Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide said last month.
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