The Associated Press (AP) on Friday issued a clarification responding to the Ministry of Foreign Affair’s criticism of a report by the news agency which said that US President Barack Obama reiterated his “support for a ‘one China’ policy that regards Taiwan as part of China” to Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) at a joint press conference during the APEC summit in Beijing, with the media outlet saying that Washington’s policy is “more nuanced and intentionally ambiguous” than that.
The AP report in question was published on Wednesday under the title: “Obama, Xi seek to downplay persistent tensions,” and said that the US president had “reaffirmed his support for a ‘one China’ policy that regards Taiwan as part of China” in a “nod to China’s sovereignty.”
The wording used in the article is arguably a paraphrasing of what Obama said about Taiwan at the press conference, which according to a transcript provided by the White House was: “I reaffirmed my strong commitment to our one-China policy based on the Three Joint Communiques and the Taiwan Relations Act.”
Since the change made to Obama’s statement in the AP article would appear to represent a change to US policy, given that Washington has long been careful to express that it “acknowledges” rather than “supports” Beijing’s sovereignty claims over Taiwan, the ministry told the Taipei Times on Thursday that it “sternly expressed our position” to the news agency over the report.
Meanwhile, American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) spokesperson Mark Zimmer confirmed to the Taipei Times that “nothing has changed about our [the US’] Taiwan policy” and that Washington remains committed to its “one China” policy based on the US-China Three Joint Communiques and the US’ Taiwan Relations Act.
In Friday’s clarification, the AP said that the US’ Taiwan policy is more intricate and purposefully vague than what the report may have suggested, adding that “under these declarations and law [the communiques and the act], the United States has considered Taiwan’s status as unsettled.”
“The US acknowledges China’s view that Taiwan is part of its territory, but it does not explicitly recognize China’s sovereignty over Taiwan, nor does it recognize Taiwan as a sovereign country,” it added.
Conflict with Taiwan could leave China with “massive economic disruption, catastrophic military losses, significant social unrest, and devastating sanctions,” a US think tank said in a report released on Monday. The German Marshall Fund released a report titled If China Attacks Taiwan: The Consequences for China of “Minor Conflict” and “Major War” Scenarios. The report details the “massive” economic, military, social and international costs to China in the event of a minor conflict or major war with Taiwan, estimating that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) could sustain losses of more than half of its active-duty ground forces, including 100,000 troops. Understanding Chinese
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday said it is closely monitoring developments in Venezuela, and would continue to cooperate with democratic allies and work together for regional and global security, stability, and prosperity. The remarks came after the US on Saturday launched a series of airstrikes in Venezuela and kidnapped Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, who was later flown to New York along with his wife. The pair face US charges related to drug trafficking and alleged cooperation with gangs designated as terrorist organizations. Maduro has denied the allegations. The ministry said that it is closely monitoring the political and economic situation
UNRELENTING: China attempted cyberattacks on Taiwan’s critical infrastructure 2.63 million times per day last year, up from 1.23 million in 2023, the NSB said China’s cyberarmy has long engaged in cyberattacks against Taiwan’s critical infrastructure, employing diverse and evolving tactics, the National Security Bureau (NSB) said yesterday, adding that cyberattacks on critical energy infrastructure last year increased 10-fold compared with the previous year. The NSB yesterday released a report titled Analysis on China’s Cyber Threats to Taiwan’s Critical Infrastructure in 2025, outlining the number of cyberattacks, major tactics and hacker groups. Taiwan’s national intelligence community identified a large number of cybersecurity incidents last year, the bureau said in a statement. China’s cyberarmy last year launched an average of 2.63 million intrusion attempts per day targeting Taiwan’s critical
‘SLICING METHOD’: In the event of a blockade, the China Coast Guard would intercept Taiwanese ships while its navy would seek to deter foreign intervention China’s military drills around Taiwan this week signaled potential strategies to cut the nation off from energy supplies and foreign military assistance, a US think tank report said. The Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) conducted what it called “Justice Mission 2025” exercises from Monday to Tuesday in five maritime zones and airspace around Taiwan, calling them a warning to “Taiwanese independence” forces. In a report released on Wednesday, the Institute for the Study of War said the exercises effectively simulated blocking shipping routes to major port cities, including Kaohsiung, Keelung and Hualien. Taiwan would be highly vulnerable under such a blockade, because it
RSS