Taiwan Tati Cultural and Educational Foundation

The American Institute in Taiwan’s (AIT) Washington Office managing director John Norris on Saturday said that he expects Taiwan-US relations to advance during US President Donald Trump’s tenure as stability across the Taiwan Strait remains a core interest to the US.

Speaking at an annual meeting with overseas Taiwanese in Washington, Norris said the US will continue to commit to the Taiwan Relations Act (TRA), the US legislation governing relations with Taiwan.

Putting the US first is what US presidents do. Post-war US presidents have consistently interpreted this as cultivating, and claiming stewardship of, an international order of peace and stability that creates conditions amenable to the furtherance of US interests. There is concern that US President Donald Trump has a narrower, less nuanced, more direct understanding of what putting the US first means, but it is impossible to tell.