Quotes About Diplomacy

I have the necessary lack of tact.

Preemption is the right of any nation in order to preserve its National Security; however, preemptive war is a tactic, not a strategy. When used as a strategy preemption dilutes diplomacy, creates an atmosphere of distrust, and promotes regional instability.

A mercurial plan of action may have worked in the Trump Organization board room, but it's a disastrous tactic in foreign affairs.

Crush Malaysia! Indonesia may change its tactics, but our goal will remain the same.

If you're a politician, you can see there might be times when, to secure the greater good, you have to take a backwards step. That is a matter of tactics.

No one wants to abandon the Israelis. But I think the perception is, and I think it's probably an accurate perception, that the tail is leading the dog - that we are giving the Israelis carte blanche ability to exercise whatever they want to do in their area.

I think the Iraq War is not particularly tailored to American interests.

We will never allow anybody to separate Taiwan from China.

As I've said many times and publicly, a war between China and Taiwan that involves the United States is a lose-lose-lose.

Taiwan and China are related ethnically and close neighbors geographically. There's no reason to resent or to fight against each other.

I will make the greatest efforts to seek a way for Taiwan and mainland China to interact that is mutually acceptable to both sides. I will not be provocative; there will not be any surprises.

I will make the greatest efforts to seek mutually acceptable interaction between Taiwan and mainland China.

So, anything that avoids a conflict that could draw in, unhappily again, outside powers such as the United States or revisit, for example, Japan's interests in the Taiwan area would be the last thing that anyone would want.

I have spent time discussing the American political system and current events in Taiwan with the junior diplomats, and they have repeatedly expressed their country's desire to avoid confrontation with China.

The election of the nationalist Chen Shui-bian as president in 2000 and his re-election in 2004 was a nadir in the relationship between Taiwan and the mainland.

Taiwan gives a lot of foreign aid to Costa Rica, so it looks like they are basically buying the right to fish, even though it's not legal.

I have this idea of a Taiwan Consensus, which means people in Taiwan have to get together and form a consensus of their own and that they turn around to talk to the Chinese to form a cross-strait consensus so we can build a relationship on that consensus. And in my view, that is the right order to do things.

Relations between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait are like those of a family.

We have to convince mainland China that a free and democratic Taiwan is more in China's interest than reunification.

But if the Chinese mainland, the PRC, attacked Taiwan, we'd be obligated to come to their aid.

Free nations of the world cannot allow Taiwan, a beacon of democracy, to be subdued by an authoritarian China.

It's very important for Taiwan to maintain its international contact.

We have a serious commitment to Taiwan being able to defend itself.

A more consistent and sustainable relationship with China will be a core goal of my administration. That requires open channels of communication, both with China's leadership and the Taiwanese people.