Western leaders have accused Vladimir Putin of dragging his feet in peace efforts and avoiding serious negotiations while his troops move deeper into Ukraine.
Russia now controls about 20% of Ukraine's territory, and amid efforts to end the war there, the Kremlin has announced it will not accept any NATO troops on Ukrainian soil as part of European proposals for security guarantees.
Gordon Chang, a senior fellow at the Gatestone Institute, is concerned about what Trump is willing to give Putin as part of an ultimate peace deal.
"If Trump allows Putin to hold onto Ukrainian territory, he is giving a big green light to Beijing to engage in aggression in East Asia," Chang warns. "The Chinese will think that the West is not able or not willing to stop an aggressor from keeping a prize."
He also questions whether Trump would defend Taiwan if the Chinese do invade.
"During the campaign, he talked about Taiwan buying more military equipment," Chang recalls. "I think recently he mentioned that Xi Jinping told him that as long as Trump was president, that he, Xi Jinping, would not invade Taiwan, but that doesn't tell me what Trump would do if Xi Jinping actually invaded."
Other than pointing out that the Russia-Ukraine situation is "very similar" to China and Taiwan, Chang observes that "Trump has said very little about Taiwan."
Washington is Taiwan's main arms supplier and international backer, but the U.S. has no formal diplomatic ties with the island.
