A US official on Thursday expressed concern over attempts by China to change the “status quo” across the Taiwan Strait, as seen in Beijing’s escalating efforts to suppress Taiwan internationally.
US Department of State Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs Deputy Assistant Secretary Alex Wong (黃之瀚) pointed to recent actions taken by China to squeeze Taiwan’s international space to make contributions that benefit the international community, such as offering humanitarian assistance and taking part in the World Health Assembly.
“Stability in the region is dependent on the status quo across the Strait. So the US government is very concerned about any attempts to disturb that status quo,” Wong said during a discussion on US strategic competition in the Indo-Pacific region held as part of the annual conference of the Center for a New American Security.
Photo: CNA
Beyond the Taiwan Relations Act, the three US-China communiques and Washington’s “one China” policy, the basis of the US-Taiwan relationship is shared values, a commitment to democracy, a commitment to market economics and a commitment to making positive contributions to the international system, Wong said.
“So in that respect, Taiwan plays a very strong and important role in the Pacific because it’s embodied in the type of reform, the type of value, that we want to promote throughout the Pacific and throughout the world,” he said.
He also mentioned the new office building of the American Institute in Taiwan, which he said is a demonstration of the “enduring nature of our relationship.”
US Principal Assistant Secretary of Defense for Asian and Pacific Security Affairs David Helvey said that Taiwan is a critically important partner of the US and that Washington continues to make available to Taiwan defense articles and services necessary to maintain its self-defense.
Taiwan’s role in the Indo-Pacific region strategy lies in its ability to maintain investment in its own capability to maintain the right type of deterrence and balance across the Taiwan Strait, so it can interact with China in a way that is consistent with its overall approach toward the cross-strait relationship, he said.
NO-LIMITS PARTNERSHIP: ‘The bottom line’ is that if the US were to have a conflict with China or Russia it would likely open up a second front with the other, a US senator said Beijing and Moscow could cooperate in a conflict over Taiwan, the top US intelligence chief told the US Senate this week. “We see China and Russia, for the first time, exercising together in relation to Taiwan and recognizing that this is a place where China definitely wants Russia to be working with them, and we see no reason why they wouldn’t,” US Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines told a US Senate Committee on Armed Services hearing on Thursday. US Senator Mike Rounds asked Haines about such a potential scenario. He also asked US Defense Intelligence Agency Director Lieutenant General Jeffrey Kruse
INSPIRING: Taiwan has been a model in the Asia-Pacific region with its democratic transition, free and fair elections and open society, the vice president-elect said Taiwan can play a leadership role in the Asia-Pacific region, vice president-elect Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) told a forum in Taipei yesterday, highlighting the nation’s resilience in the face of geopolitical challenges. “Not only can Taiwan help, but Taiwan can lead ... not only can Taiwan play a leadership role, but Taiwan’s leadership is important to the world,” Hsiao told the annual forum hosted by the Center for Asia-Pacific Resilience and Innovation think tank. Hsiao thanked Taiwan’s international friends for their long-term support, citing the example of US President Joe Biden last month signing into law a bill to provide aid to Taiwan,
China’s intrusive and territorial claims in the Indo-Pacific region are “illegal, coercive, aggressive and deceptive,” new US Indo-Pacific Commander Admiral Samuel Paparo said on Friday, adding that he would continue working with allies and partners to keep the area free and open. Paparo made the remarks at a change-of-command ceremony at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam in Hawaii, where he took over the command from Admiral John Aquilino. “Our world faces a complex problem set in the troubling actions of the People’s Republic of China [PRC] and its rapid buildup of forces. We must be ready to answer the PRC’s increasingly intrusive and
STATE OF THE NATION: The legislature should invite the president to deliver an address every year, the TPP said, adding that Lai should also have to answer legislators’ questions The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) yesterday proposed inviting president-elect William Lai (賴清德) to make a historic first state of the nation address at the legislature following his inauguration on May 20. Lai is expected to face many domestic and international challenges, and should clarify his intended policies with the public’s representatives, KMT caucus secretary-general Hung Meng-kai (洪孟楷) said when making the proposal at a meeting of the legislature’s Procedure Committee. The committee voted to add the item to the agenda for Friday, along with another similar proposal put forward by the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP). The invitation is in line with Article 15-2