New national security advisor J. Bolton once proposed deploying US troops to Taiwan.

Although he has stressed that he will set aside his personal views when implementing President Donald Trump's policies, there are signs that many of his views may become reality.

New US national security adviser John Bolton. Photo: AP

Despite the fact that Mr. Bolton has said that his personal views will not influence his decisions, his hawkish views on a range of issues such as Iran and North Korea are the reason President Trump chose Mr. Bolton. Therefore, Beijing should be cautious about Mr. Bolton’s approach to the “One China” policy.

In a commentary titled “America Can Play the Taiwan Card” published on January 17, 2016, Mr. Bolton suggested that a Republican president could address what he described as a “flaw” in America’s China policy by changing Washington’s stance on the “One China” policy.

“This could include modifying and abandoning the ambiguous One China mantra, along with far-reaching initiatives to counter Beijing’s growing political and military aggression in the South and East China Seas,” Mr. Bolton wrote.

Mr. Bolton has also described himself as outspoken on the Taiwan issue and proposed increasing U.S. arms sales to the self-ruled island.

In an interview with VOA, Bonnie Glaser, director of the China Power Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), said: "Mr. Bolton has said he will put aside his personal policy priorities and implement President Trump's policies, but I would be surprised if he did not push forward some of his long-standing priorities. Among them are regime change in North Korea and promoting relations with Taiwan."

Meanwhile, Mr. Harry Kazianis, Director of Defense Studies at the Center for the National Interest, commented that Mr. Bolton would support Mr. Trump's current tariff tactics with China, and take a more aggressive stance in the South China Sea and the East China Sea, while "pressing Taiwan to establish a more comprehensive relationship with the US."

In another opinion article titled “Reviewing the One China Policy” published in the Wall Street Journal on January 16 last year, Mr. Bolton even proposed redeploying part of the US troops from Okinawa to Taiwan.

Mr. Bolton explained that Taiwan is closer to the East Asian mainland and the South China Sea than the current US bases in Okinawa and Guam, and emphasized that there is little possibility that the administration of Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte is willing to increase military cooperation./.