Lai's letter to Trump a great start: Ex-U.S. national security advisor

Washington, Dec. 12 (CNA) A former United States national security advisor on Thursday confirmed delivering President Lai Ching-te's (賴清德) congratulatory letter to Donald Trump, calling it a "great start" for relations between the two sides.

Robert O'Brien, who served as Trump's national security advisor from 2019 to 2021, said that he delivered the letter to Trump's Mar-a-Lago residence as reported by CNN in November, and that the U.S. president-elect was reportedly "very pleased."

O'Brien made the remarks during an event hosted by the Washington D.C.-based think tank Global Taiwan Institute (GTI). He noted that Lai's letter marked one of the first instances of communication following Trump's election victory.

"I think it was a great start," he said, despite no direct phone call having taken place.

O'Brien was referring to when Taiwan's former President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) personally called Trump in December 2016 to congratulate him on his first presidential victory.

The 10-minute call marked the first direct communication between a Taiwanese leader and a U.S. president-elect since the diplomatic ties between Taipei and Washington were cut off in 1979.

During the GTI event, O'Brien highlighted Trump's appointment of several pro-Taiwan officials in his incoming administration, including China hawks Marco Rubio as secretary of state nominee, Mike Waltz as national security advisor, and Alex Wong, who has family connections with Taiwan, as deputy national security advisor.

He noted Jamieson Greer, a member of the Global Taiwan Institute's U.S.-Taiwan relationship team, has also been designated as U.S. trade representative, adding that "personnel is policy."

O'Brien praised Taiwan's democracy for debunking China's narrative that "Chinese people can't govern themselves," which he said has frustrated and angered Beijing.

Speaking about Trump's approach to Taiwan in his term, however, O'Brien described the former president as a "dealmaker" who does not just see Taiwan through a security lens.

"[Trump] also looks Taiwan and sees rich people, and he sees Taiwan as a very rich country" he said, referring to Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.'s (TSMC) factories in Arizona as one example.

"I don't think [Trump] will be willing to underwrite Taiwan's defense anymore," O'Brien said. "So, I can see the Taiwanese coming in ... with big purchases of U.S. weapon systems, to balance the trade deficit."

In November, Taiwan was named for the sixth consecutive time on the U.S. Department of the Treasury's twice-yearly currency monitoring list, which also include China, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Vietnam and Germany.

Together, the seven countries accounted for about 78 percent of U.S. foreign trade in goods and services over the four quarters ending in June 2024, according to the U.S. Treasury.

Data from Taiwan's Cabinet Office of Trade Negotiation indicated that the U.S. recorded a trade deficit of US$61.87 billion with Taiwan in the first 10 months of 2024.

"The Chinese are gonna make deals with Donald Trump, and the Taiwanese will [have to] prepare to make deals," O'Brien said.