It reportedly took months to plan Trump's phone call with leader of Taiwan

Donald Trump.
(Image credit: Getty Images)

The phone call between Donald Trump and Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen on Friday was set up well in advance and provocative on purpose, people involved with the planning told The Washington Post Sunday.

The U.S. has a military relationship with Taiwan, but closed its embassy there in 1979, and leaders from the two countries have not spoken since. Beijing views Taiwan as a province, and suggested the phone call was a clear example of Trump's inexperience. Some advisers are calling on Trump to take an aggressive approach to relations with China, and many on his transition team are seen as being hawkish on China, including incoming chief of staff Reince Priebus, the Post says.

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Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia is night editor for TheWeek.com. Her writing and reporting has appeared in Entertainment Weekly and EW.com, The New York Times, The Book of Jezebel, and other publications. A Southern California native, Catherine is a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.