A senior State Department official has called on Taipei to communicate fully with Washington to avoid a repetition of President Chen Shui-bian's (陳水扁) "surprise" Lunar New Year proposal to scrap the National Unification Council and unification guidelines and seek UN membership as "Taiwan."
James Keith, the department's special assistant for East Asian affairs, said he expected that Washington and Taipei would continue to operate very closely together in the future, "with no daylight between us in terms of our policy approaches."
Speaking to Taiwanese reporters at an impromptu press conference on Thursday after he made an appearance on Capitol Hill, Keith said that US policy toward Taiwan had not changed, "and we have every expectation that that will be the case in Taiwan as well."
Noting that communication between the two sides was very close, Keith said he was "gratified" by this.
"It's important that we use those channels to ensure there are no surprises between us, because these are issues that directly affect American interests, and therefore we need to be in close touch," he said.
The State Department is said to be angry that Chen put forward his proposals on UN membership and the unification council without telling Washington first. That would explain the department's sharp reaction on Monday when it took the unusual step of widely publicizing its reaction statement to Chen's speech, equating his speech with an effort to change the "status quo."
Keith, the department official most closely involved in Taiwan policy, said the department acted because "we felt it necessary to be absolutely clear about US policy ... We fully expect that the president and his government will continue to adhere to the status quo ... and that the kind of assurances that were provided in the past will continue to be honored."
The gap in communication that the department says occurred around the New Year speech is curious, considering that communication between the two sides has been closer and more open in recent years.
This is especially the case in Washington, where de facto ambassador David Lee Ta-wei (李大維) and other officials with the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office are in regular contact with key US officials.
"We've heard from the Taiwan government just about every day this week, and last week and the week before," Keith said.
On Chen's proposal to seek UN membership under the name "Taiwan," Keith said only that US policy had not changed.
"Our expectation is that we'll stay in close alignment with the government in Taiwan on that and many other issues," he said.
Keith did not directly comment on the latest statement by Minister of Foreign Affairs James Huang (黃志芳) on the issue, saying he had not seen Huang's remarks.
In response to the US rebuke, Huang said that Chen was merely suggesting that the government was considering scrapping the council and the guidelines because the council is covered by a legislative resolution that all ad hoc commissions without a legal basis be eliminated.
"The president is just reflecting the concerns of Taiwan's people," Huang said on Thursday.
"It was not Taiwan's intention to surprise the United States," he said. "If there are differences on both sides, we shall strengthen communication with the US authorities."
also see stories:
No `surprise' intended, says foreign minister
DPP legislators back Chen's proposals
President vows to keep on in `the right direction'
NO HUMAN ERROR: After the incident, the Coast Guard Administration said it would obtain uncrewed aerial vehicles and vessels to boost its detection capacity Authorities would improve border control to prevent unlawful entry into Taiwan’s waters and safeguard national security, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday after a Chinese man reached the nation’s coast on an inflatable boat, saying he “defected to freedom.” The man was found on a rubber boat when he was about to set foot on Taiwan at the estuary of Houkeng River (後坑溪) near Taiping Borough (太平) in New Taipei City’s Linkou District (林口), authorities said. The Coast Guard Administration’s (CGA) northern branch said it received a report at 6:30am yesterday morning from the New Taipei City Fire Department about a
IN BEIJING’S FAVOR: A China Coast Guard spokesperson said that the Chinese maritime police would continue to carry out law enforcement activities in waters it claims The Philippines withdrew its coast guard vessel from a South China Sea shoal that has recently been at the center of tensions with Beijing. BRP Teresa Magbanua “was compelled to return to port” from Sabina Shoal (Xianbin Shoal, 仙濱暗沙) due to bad weather, depleted supplies and the need to evacuate personnel requiring medical care, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) spokesman Jay Tarriela said yesterday in a post on X. The Philippine vessel “will be in tiptop shape to resume her mission” after it has been resupplied and repaired, Philippine Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin, who heads the nation’s maritime council, said
REGIONAL STABILITY: Taipei thanked the Biden administration for authorizing its 16th sale of military goods and services to uphold Taiwan’s defense and safety The US Department of State has approved the sale of US$228 million of military goods and services to Taiwan, the US Department of Defense said on Monday. The state department “made a determination approving a possible Foreign Military Sale” to the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the US for “return, repair and reshipment of spare parts and related equipment,” the defense department’s Defense Security Cooperation Agency said in a news release. Taiwan had requested the purchase of items and services which include the “return, repair and reshipment of classified and unclassified spare parts for aircraft and related equipment; US Government
More than 500 people on Saturday marched in New York in support of Taiwan’s entry to the UN, significantly more people than previous years. The march, coinciding with the ongoing 79th session of the UN General Assembly, comes close on the heels of growing international discourse regarding the meaning of UN Resolution 2758. Resolution 2758, adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1971, recognizes the People’s Republic of China (PRC) as the “only lawful representative of China.” It resulted in the Republic of China (ROC) losing its seat at the UN to the PRC. Taiwan has since been excluded from