FROM NBC NEWS: President Donald Trump has spoken with the leaders of U.S. ally Japan and rival superpower China amid the pair’s escalating dispute over Taiwan.
Trump’s surprise call Monday with his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, was followed by a call with Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, who angered China earlier this month with comments on the Beijing-claimed island democracy.
The dispute began when Takaichi, who was elected last month, told lawmakers that a hypothetical Chinese attack on self-ruling Taiwan, which at its closest point is about 70 miles from Japanese territory, could threaten Japan’s survival and trigger a military response from Tokyo.
It was the first time such an explicit remark had been made by a sitting prime minister of Japan, which like the United States has long been deliberately vague as to whether it would intervene militarily in the event of an attack on Taiwan
China and Japan said Trump initiated the calls. The White House has not confirmed that, and Trump has not publicly commented on the dispute.
The U.S. ambassador to Japan, George Glass, said Tokyo can count on U.S. support in the face of Chinese “coercion.”
Japanese PM Sanae Takaichi said she spoke to Donald Trump about China relations in their first call since her diplomatic dispute with Beijing over her remarks on Taiwan and said that there was ‘close cooperation between Japan and the United States’ https://t.co/RVDjTwZ2Eo pic.twitter.com/31qx4UV6vC
— Reuters (@Reuters) November 25, 2025
Return to China ‘not an option’, Taiwan PM warns – as Xi Jinping mentions issue in phone call with Trump
— Sky News (@SkyNews) November 25, 2025
READ MORE AT NBC NEWS
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