US president-elect Donald Trump looked to have sparked a potentially damaging diplomatic row with Beijing on Friday after speaking with President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) on the telephone.
The call, first reported by the Taipei Times and confirmed by the Financial Times, is thought to be the first between a leader of Taiwan and a US president or president-elect since ties between the two countries were severed in 1979, at the behest of Beijing.
“It must be pointed out that there is only one China in the world and Taiwan is an inseparable part of Chinese territory. The government of the People’s Republic of China is the sole legitimate government representing China,” Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Geng Shuang (耿爽) said in a statement yesterday. “This is a fact that is generally recognized by the international community.”
Photo: Twitter.com/realDonaldTrump
The statement did not describe the details of China’s complaint to the US, or say with whom it had been lodged.
It said China urged “the relevant US side” — implying Trump’s incoming administration — to handle Taiwan-related issues “cautiously and properly” to avoid “unnecessary interference” in the China-US relationship.
The US closed its embassy in Taiwan in the late 1970s, after the historic rapprochement between Beijing and Washington that stemmed from then-US president Richard Nixon’s 1972 trip to China.
Since then the US has adhered to the “one China” principle.
Trump’s transition team said Tsai, who became the nation’s first female president in January, had congratulated the billionaire tycoon on his recent victory.
“During the discussion they noted the close economic, political and security ties that exist between Taiwan and the United States,” a statement said. “President-elect Trump also congratulated President Tsai on becoming president of Taiwan earlier this year.”
Beijing initially sought to play down the importance of the telephone call, with Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi (王毅) dismissing it as “just a small trick” by Taiwan.
However, experts said the call would infuriate China’s leaders.
“This is going to make real waves in Beijing,” said Bill Bishop, a veteran China watcher who runs the Washington-based Sinocism newsletter. “I think we will see quite the reaction from Beijing. This will put relations from day one into a very difficult place.”
Evan Medeiros, the Asia director at the White House national security council, told the Financial Times: “The Chinese leadership will see this as a highly provocative action, of historic proportions.”
“Regardless if it was deliberate or accidental, this phone call will fundamentally change China’s perceptions of Trump’s strategic intentions for the negative. With this kind of move, Trump is setting a foundation of enduring mistrust and strategic competition for US-China relations,” he said.
Bishop said it was hard to know whether the call was the result of a deliberate policy move by Trump or merely an intervention by a member of his staff who was friendly toward Tsai and Taipei.
Trump’s adviser Peter Navarro, an economics professor, traveled to Taiwan earlier this year at the invitation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
In a recent article for Foreign Policy magazine, Navarro said US President Barack Obama’s treatment of Taiwan had been “egregious,” adding: “This beacon of democracy in Asia is perhaps the most militarily vulnerable US partner anywhere in the world.”
Presidential Office spokesman Alex Huang (黃重諺) said Taiwan values its ties with both China and the US, and Taipei’s efforts to improve the two sets of relations do not conflict with each other.
“As far as Taiwan is concerned, good relations across the Taiwan Strait and good relations with the United States are equally important, and both are very helpful to peace and stability in the region,” he said.
Shrugging off a comment by a senior Chinese official, Huang said the improvement in both sets of ties is a goal toward which Taiwan is working and efforts made in the two areas are parallel and do not conflict with each other.
The Mainland Affairs Council also issued a statement saying that the Republic of China is a sovereign nation and has for a long time maintained friendly relations with the US, therefore it is normal for Tsai to congratulate the US president-elect and to emphasize future good bilateral relations.
Additional reporting by Su Fang-ho
Beijing’s continued provocations in the Taiwan Strait reveal its intention to unilaterally change the “status quo” in the area, the US Department of State said on Saturday, calling for a peaceful resolution to cross-strait issues. The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) reported that four China Coast Guard patrol vessels entered restricted and prohibited waters near Kinmen County on Friday and again on Saturday. A State Department spokesperson said that Washington was aware of the incidents, and urged all parties to exercise restraint and refrain from unilaterally changing the “status quo.” “Maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait is in line with our [the
EXTENDED RANGE: Hsiung Sheng missiles, 100 of which might be deployed by the end of the year, could reach Chinese command posts and airport runways, a source said A NT$16.9 billion (US$534.93 million) project to upgrade the military’s missile defense systems would be completed this year, allowing the deployment of at least 100 long-range Hsiung Sheng missiles and providing more deterrence against China, military sources said on Saturday. Hsiung Sheng missiles are an extended-range version of the Hsiung Feng IIE (HF-2E) surface-to-surface cruise missile, and are believed to have a range of up to 1,200km, which would allow them to hit targets well inside China. They went into mass production in 2022, the sources said. The project is part of a special budget for the Ministry of National Defense aimed at
READY TO WORK: Taiwan is eager to cooperate and is hopeful that like-minded states will continue to advocate for its inclusion in regional organizations, Lai said Maintaining the “status quo” in the Taiwan Strait, and peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region must be a top priority, president-elect William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday after meeting with a delegation of US academics. Leaders of the G7, US President Joe Biden and other international heads of state have voiced concerns about the situation in the Strait, as stability in the region is necessary for a safe, peaceful and prosperous world, Lai said. The vice president, who is to be inaugurated in May, welcomed the delegation and thanked them for their support for Taiwan and issues concerning the Strait. The international community
COOPERATION: Two crewmembers from a Chinese fishing boat that sank off Kinmen were rescued, two were found dead and another two were still missing at press time The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) was yesterday working with Chinese rescuers to find two missing crewmembers from a Chinese fishing boat that sank southwest of Kinmen County yesterday, killing two crew. The joint operation managed to rescue two of the boat’s six crewmembers, but two were already dead when they were pulled from the water, the agency said in a statement. Rescuers are still searching for two others from the Min Long Yu 61222, a boat registered in China’s Fujian Province that capsized and sank 1.03 nautical miles (1.9km) southwest of Dongding Island (東碇), it added. CGA Director-General Chou Mei-wu (周美伍) told a