The longheld US position to defend Taiwan’s independent status in the face of Chinese aggression is looking shaky under the Trump administration, in spite of Taiwanese efforts to court the American president. This week, Gideon talks to analyst and author James Crabtree - former director of the Asia office of the International Institute for Strategic Studies - about why the US now seems more interested in doing a deal with China than showing support for Taiwan. They also discuss the broader implications that this, and other issues, might have for US alliances across the Indo-Pacific region, including relations with South Korea, Japan, Australia and India.

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More on this topic:

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Presented by Gideon Rachman. Produced by Clare Williamson. Sound design is by Breen Turner. The executive producer is Flo Phillips.

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

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