The White House late on Thursday cautioned China against luring away Taiwan’s allies, in the latest sign that trade friction between Washington and Beijing is expanding into a broader struggle for global clout.
In a harshly worded statement, White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said that the US would rethink relations with El Salvador after the Central American nation this week cut ties with Taipei in favor of Beijing.
The US would seek to deter Chinese efforts to forge new diplomatic bonds in the region, Sanders said.
Photo: AP
“The El Salvadoran government’s receptiveness to China’s apparent interference in the domestic politics of a Western Hemisphere country is of grave concern to the United States, and will result in a re-evaluation of our relationship with El Salvador,” she said. “The United States will continue to oppose China’s destabilization of the cross-strait relationship and political interference in the Western Hemisphere.”
While the statement mentioned no specific action, it represented a potentially significant shift in the US’ posture toward China.
The western hemisphere reference evoked the US’ historical claim to a sphere of influence over North and South America under the Monroe Doctrine, which then-US secretary of state John Kerry in 2013 declared “over.”
El Salvador was the third Central American nation to recognize Beijing in two years, leaving Taipei with only 17 diplomatic allies.
The Presidential Office yesterday thanked the US for “speaking out for justice.”
“Taiwan is grateful to the US authorities, including the White House, government and Congress, for the remarks they made in favor of Taiwan” after El Salvador switched recognition to China, Presidential Office spokesperson Alex Huang (黃重諺) said in a statement.
“Protecting the country’s sovereignty and dignity, strengthening our self-defense and safeguarding our free and democratic lifestyle is our bottom line, which is also an internationally recognized value,” Huang quoted President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) as saying. “Taiwan will not yield to China’s intimidation and will continue to contribute to the stabilization and the forces of good in the region.”
Separately, Tsai met with former US Pacific Fleet commander Admiral Scott Swift in Taipei yesterday.
She thanked Swift, the US Congress and US government for their support, and said she hoped for regular arms sales to Taiwan, as well as more exchanges on autonomous defense capabilities.
Maintaining security and stability in the Taiwan Strait and in the region is a goal that the two countries share, Tsai said.
As China’s suppression of Taiwan continues to increase, Taipei should work closely with the US and other nations that have similar beliefs, and play a more active role in regional security, she said.
Apart from boosting military exchanges between the US and Taiwan, Swift’s visit was evidence of the strong partnership between the two nations, Tsai said.
This month, US President Donald Trump signed the US National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal year 2019, she said, adding that the sections pertaining to Taiwan contain benefits that include mutual visits between officials from Taiwan and the US, Taiwan-US military exchanges and the improvement of Taiwan’s military preparedness.
Additional reporting by CNA
The Ministry of Transportation and Communications yesterday inaugurated the Danjiang Bridge across the Tamsui River in New Taipei City, saying that the structure would be an architectural icon and traffic artery for Taiwan. Feted as a major engineering achievement, the Danjiang Bridge is 920m long, 211m tall at the top of its pylon, and is the longest single-pylon asymmetric cable-stayed bridge in the world, the government’s Web site for the structure said. It was designed by late Iraqi-British architect Zaha Hadid. The structure, with a maximum deck of 70m, accommodates road and light rail traffic, and affords a 200m navigation channel for boats,
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s largest foundry service provider, yesterday said that global semiconductor revenue is projected to hit US$1.5 trillion in 2030, after the figure exceeds US$1 trillion this year, as artificial intelligence (AI) demand boosts consumption of token and compute power. “We are still at the beginning of the AI revolution, but we already see a significant impact across the whole semiconductor ecosystem,” TSMC deputy cochief operating officer Kevin Zhang (張曉強) said at the company’s annual technology symposium in Hsinchu City. “It is fair to say that in the past decade, smartphones and other mobile devices were
US-CHINA SUMMIT: MOFA welcomed US reassurance of no change in its Taiwan policy; Trump said he did not comment when Xi talked of opposing independence US President Donald Trump yesterday said he has not made a decision on whether to move forward with a major arms package for Taiwan after hearing concerns about it from Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平). Trump’s comments on Taiwan came as he flew back to Washington after wrapping up critical talks in which both leaders said important progress was made in stabilizing US-China relations even as deep differences persist between the world’s two biggest powers on Iran and Taiwan. “I will make a determination,” Trump said, adding: “I’ll be making decisions. But, you know, I think the last thing we need right
TAIWAN ISSUE: US treasury secretary Scott Bessent said on the first day of meetings that ‘it wouldn’t be a US-China summit without the Taiwan issue coming up’ There were no surprises on the first day of the summit between US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平), the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday, as the government reiterated that cross-strait stability is crucial to the Asia-Pacific region, as well as the world. As the two presidents met for a highly anticipated summit yesterday, Chinese state media reported that Xi warned Trump that missteps regarding Taiwan could push their two countries into “conflict.” Trump arrived in China with accolades for his host, calling Xi a “great leader” and “friend,” and extending an invitation to visit the White House
RSS