Donald Trump wants to use trade to deal with China in the East Sea issue

The US presidential candidate said he wants to use trade as a tool to prevent China's militarization actions in the East Sea.

US presidential candidate Donald Trump. Photo: Reuters

In an interview with the New York Times, billionaire Donald Trump said that the best wayto prevent Beijing from establishing military airports and air defense missiles in the East Sea isprevent China from accessing the US market.

“We have tremendous economic power over China,” he said. “And that’s the power of trade. Because they use us as their bank, as their piggy bank, they take our money and they don’t give it back.”

When asked how far he would go to deal with China on the East Sea issue, he said"I don't want to say what I'm going to do, because we need unpredictability. I don't want them to know what I'm thinking," the billionaire added, however, "of course, I'm going to use trade as a bargaining chip."

China has brazenly claimed sovereignty over most of the East Sea, despite opposition from the international community. Beijing has massively reclaimed and transformed seven reefs of the Truong Sa archipelago, under Vietnam’s sovereignty, into artificial islands and built facilities on them. Since the beginning of the year, this country has also clearly shown its intention to militarize the East Sea by sending radar systems, missiles and fighter jets to the Hoang Sa archipelago. The Hoang Sa archipelago, under Vietnam’s sovereignty, has been occupied by China by force since 1974.

According to VNE