As US President Barack Obama reshuffles his top staff in preparation for next year’s presidential election, there could be substantial change in the administration’s Asia team with implications for US policy on Taiwan.
The White House doors are spinning with a series of major developments in the past week and more are expected in the weeks and months to come.
In the past few days, Wall Street executive William Daley has been appointed as the president’s new chief of staff; Gene Sperling, a counselor to US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, was given the top economic policy job; and press secretary Robert Gibbs, a close presidential confidant, stepped down to become an -outside -political adviser.
These big moves within the administration are thought certain to herald other changes further down the ladder, including within the Asia team.
“Several senior Obama administration Asia officials are set to either leave government or move to new jobs within the bureaucracy as the White House tries to hit the reset button on US-China relations,” Foreign Policy magazine reported.
A post on the magazine’s Web site, dealing with behind the scenes foreign policy developments in Washington, said that US Deputy Secretary of State Jim Steinberg “has been rumored to be leaving State for a long time now, but still remains at his post and is very active on Asia policy.”
Sources have told Foreign -Policy magazine that Steinberg never intended to stay more than two years, “but has not yet found the right job to justify him leaving.”
However, the magazine added that Jeffrey Bader, the National Security Council senior director for Asia, will leave soon. Bader and US Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Kurt Campbell have been jointly responsible for driving current US-China policy.
According to insiders, Campbell — who could eventually get Steinberg’s job — is rather more sympathetic toward Taiwan than Bader, who is less hawkish on China.
Bader could also be replaced by Japan expert Daniel Russell, who currently works under Bader. In Bader’s position, Russell would likely push for a closer relationship with Tokyo, which in turn could benefit Taiwan.
Foreign Policy magazine also said that Campbell’s principal deputy Joe Donovan is being considered for an ambassadorship, possibly to South Korea or Cambodia. Another of Campbell’s deputies, David Shear, is to be the next US ambassador to Vietnam. Thus, there could be two vacancies in an area that is heavily involved in US-China-Taiwan relations.
On top of these developments, Newsweek has reported that US ambassador to China Jon Huntsman — a former governor of Utah — might resign this year to seek the Republican Party presidential nomination for next year.
Huntsman, who once served as a Mormon missionary in Taiwan, is widely praised for his work in Beijing and is believed to retain a strong interest in Taiwan.
If he was to win the Republican nomination to challenge Obama — something that is far from certain — he would be one of the most knowledgeable presidential candidates ever on Asian affairs in general and Taiwan policy in particular.
LEVERAGE: China did not ‘need to fire a shot’ to deny Taiwan airspace over Africa when it owns ‘half the continent’s debt,’ a US official said, calling it economic warfare The EU has raised concerns about overflight rights following the delay of President William Lai’s (賴清德) planned state visit to the Kingdom of Eswatini after three African nations denied overflight clearance for his charter at the last minute. Taiwanese allies Paraguay and Saint Kitts and Nevis, as well as several US lawmakers and the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China (IPAC) condemned China for allegedly pressuring the countries. Lai was scheduled to fly directly to Taiwan’s only African ally from yesterday to Sunday to celebrate the 40th anniversary of King Mswati III’s accession and his 58th birthday, but Seychelles, Mauritius and Madagascar suddenly revoked
The number of pet cats in Taiwan surpassed that of pet dogs for the first time last year, reaching 1,742,033, a 32.8 percent increase from 2023, the Ministry of Agriculture said yesterday, citing a survey. By contrast, the number of pet dogs declined slightly by 1.2 percent over the same period to 1,462,528, the ministry said. Despite the shift, households with dogs still slightly outnumber those with cats by 1.2 percent. However, while the number of households with multiple dogs has remained relatively stable, households keeping more than two cats have increased, contributing to the overall rise in the feline population. The trend
China on Wednesday teased in a video an aircraft carrier that could be its fourth, and the first using nuclear power, while making an allusion to Taiwan and vowing to further build up its islands, as it looks to boost maritime power, secure resources and bolster territorial claims. The video, issued on the eve of the 77th founding anniversary of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy, featured fictional officers with names that are homophones of three commissioned aircraft carriers, the Liaoning (遼寧), Shandong (山東) and Fujian (福建). Titled Into the Deep, it showed a 19-year-old named “Hejian” (何劍) joining the group, sparking
Taiwan has signed six arms procurement offers from the US totaling more than NT$208 billion (US$6.59 billion) covering long-range precision strike systems, missile stockpile replenishment and joint production of large-caliber ammunition, the Ministry of National Defense said yesterday. The government’s proposed NT$1.25 trillion special defense budget has been stalled in the Legislative Yuan as opposition lawmakers question the amount and procurement items, while the Presidential Office and defense ministry say that the full amount is necessary to safeguard Taiwan. Minister of National Defense Wellington Koo (顧立雄) on Monday briefed the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee on the defense budget for
RSS