Trump said, “If Taiwan is attacked, Xi knows what will happen. He didn’t even bring it up during our meeting because he knows the consequences.” He also claimed Xi had assured him that China would not move against Taiwan as long as Trump remains in office.
Trump Orders Resumption of Nuclear Tests
In a major policy shift, Trump announced that the United States will resume nuclear testing for the first time in over 30 years. Defending the decision, he said that while the US has “enough nuclear weapons to blow up the world 150 times,” renewed testing is necessary due to Russia’s and China’s covert nuclear activities.
Trump said he has directed the Pentagon to prepare for a new round of tests similar to those allegedly being conducted by Moscow and Beijing.
The last US nuclear test, codenamed “Divider,” was carried out on September 23, 1992, at the Nevada Test Site. The underground explosion briefly lifted the ground by nearly a foot and left behind a massive crater, marking America’s 1,030th test.
US and China Defence Chiefs Hold Talks in Malaysia
US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth met with Chinese Defence Minister Admiral Dong Jun in Malaysia on October 31 to discuss rising tensions over Taiwan and the South China Sea.
Hegseth reaffirmed that the US would continue to “maintain the balance of power in the Indo-Pacific” and protect its strategic interests, adding, “We do not seek confrontation but will maintain a strong military presence.”
Admiral Dong Jun, however, urged Washington to act with restraint and stop backing Taiwan’s independence, insisting that the island remains an “inseparable part of China.”
Trump later reiterated that China never dared to threaten Taiwan during his first term, saying it feared a “strong and immediate US response.”
RUSI Report: Russia Training Chinese Paratroopers for Taiwan Operation
A new report by the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI), a leading UK defense think tank, claims that Russia is training Chinese paratroopers for a possible airborne assault on Taiwan.
According to 800 leaked documents, Moscow is supplying weapons, tanks, and advanced training simulators to China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA). The report states that President Xi Jinping has ordered the PLA to be ready for an operation against Taiwan by 2027.
Under a 2023 agreement, PLA troops reportedly began training in Russia, followed by joint exercises in China focusing on airborne landings, fire control, and maneuver warfare.
Decades of China–Taiwan Tensions
The China–Taiwan conflict dates back over seven decades, to the Chinese Civil War (1927–1950) between the Kuomintang (KMT) and the Chinese Communist Party (CPC).
When Mao Zedong’s Communists took over mainland China in 1949, Chiang Kai-shek and the Nationalists fled to Taiwan, forming the Republic of China (ROC) government there.
While Beijing insists Taiwan is a breakaway province that must reunify with the mainland—by force if necessary—Taiwan views itself as a sovereign democracy.
Since the Korean War, the US has supported Taiwan’s autonomy, maintaining a defensive partnership and calling the island a neutral zone to deter Chinese aggression.
Rising Indo-Pacific Tensions
Trump’s latest warning, combined with recent US–China defense talks and reports of Russian–Chinese military cooperation, underscores Taiwan’s position as a central flashpoint in the Indo-Pacific power struggle.
Analysts say the island’s fate could become a defining issue in global geopolitics, shaping the course of US–China relations and international security in the years ahead.
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